Love Amongst Survivors
by Toa Naruto
Summary: Originally intended to be a oneshot. The destruction of Madara had unforseen consequences. Flung into a modern world destroyed by anarchy and the living dead, Naruto finds something that he couldn't in his home world.
1. Chapter 1

**Love Amongst Survivors **

**Hi there! I thought that I would stray from the old routine and try my hand at a one-shot. The inspiration for this story was from the manga series _Highschool of the Dead_, and the story _Only Human_ by fellow author Kid Klip. Unfortunately, Kid Klip has stopped updating the story, as he lost the drive to continue it. The story is up for grabs if you're interested, he would happily give it to you if want to take up the challenge, as well as his original plans for the story. Anyways, the main pairing for this story is (drum roll please): Naruto Uzumaki x Shizuka Marikawa. Why? Well, aside from _Only Human _&_ Outbreak_, there were no other stories that featured this pairing. Plus, I see a lot of similarities between them, besides the color of their hair. But, where as those two stories had Naruto with a harem, this will be strictly Naruto X Shizuka, only. Like everything else, I unfortunately own nothing. **

**I **

The stars shone brightly in the night's sky, and the people of Nami no Kuni were slowly beginning to wind down. It was Friday night, meaning that everybody from teenagers to adults were kicking back and enjoying themselves after a long week of school or work. But there was one person in particular that wasn't amongst the people enjoying the opportunities for fun and recreation that were available from Wave's night life. This man was currently standing on the bedroom balcony of a modest two-story house that was situated on the the coast, away from the central populace. But at the same time the building itself wasn't too isolated, as it was very close to the estate that housed the famous bridge builder Tazuna and his family.

The man was silent as he stood out on the balcony, wearing only a pair light gray sweat pants, he chest bare of any clothing. A light breeze brushed against him, his spiky sun-kissed blond hair swaying slightly with the wind, yet he showed no signs that the sudden draft discomforted him. He was tall, and had a thin build to him. He wasn't buff like some body builder that spent most of their life working out in a gym, but still had a lean-muscular figure hinting that he was physically active. Add in the triple whisker marks that adorned his cheeks, and it was easy for anyone to tell that it was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, former shinobi of Konohagakure, hero and protector of the Nami no Kuni. A lot of things had happened since his first high ranked mission in this land. The Fourth Shinobi World War had left an everlasting mark on the world and had changed the lives of numerous people, both shinobi and civilian. But it was the final confrontation between Madara Uchiha that changed everything for Naruto. Although he had emerged victorious against the megalomaniac after a long and arduous battle, the destruction of the immortal Uchiha's body had some unforseen side effects; it had created a portal similar to the ones that the eldest Uchiha used to travel long distances as well as become intangible to negate his opponent's attacks. But what was different about this portal was that it was larger and stronger than ones that were normally used, not to mention that it seemed self-sustainable. Naruto tried to get away from it, but the battle had depleted much of his strength, and he was pulled into the swirling vortex easily. Naruto had thought that he was going to die right then and there, but instead, he was met with a situation that he thought only existed in nightmares.

**I**

_Flashback Start _

"Ugh...Damn Uchihas, always so over dramatic. Even their own deaths have to be theatrical show-stoppers." groaned Naruto, his vision was still swimming from traveling through the rip in space-time that Madara's destruction had caused. "But, at least there's one last power hungry, wacko that we have to worry about."

As his equilibrium finally returned to him, Naruto realized that he was no longer in the destroyed forested area that served as their battlefield. Because last time he checked,the forest didn't have grungy brick walls normpsters filled to the brink with garbage. Dread suddenly consumed him as he had no idea how long he was unconscious, but he rationalized that it must have been for a long time, as he could feel that most of his chakra had returned to him. For a brief horrifying moment, Naruto thought that Madara had some how managed to cast some sort of unique genjutsu on him in his last moments alive. Quickly, he tried break it by surging his chakra, then by biting his lip, and even going as far as to cut his hand with a kunai. But still, his surroundings remained as they were.

"Oh-kay? Since this isn't some genjutsu, then the only other explanation is that I'm still in reality. But I guess what I should be worried about is where exactly am I." Naruto mused to himself, as he walked out of the alleyway. But what he saw once he was out in the open did little to settle the unease that was starting build up within him.

He found himself in the middle of what seemed like a road, but it was covered with several small black stones, and it had a white dashed line painted in the center. The buildings that he saw were larger and more cleaner looking than any of the ones he had seen in the Elemental Nations, giving off an advanced and more modern appearence. Even more puzzling was that there were many metal square carriages that were parked along the road, yet they were of the strangest designs he had ever seen; there wasn't any spot to secure a horse to it. But those sights were nothing compared to the dead silence that permeated the area. It chilled Naruto to the bone; it just didn't seem right for a city of this magnitude to be so silent. It was as if he were in a ghost town.

"Okay, this is just nuts. Shouldn't this place be teeming with people?" said Naruto, as he tried in vain to sense anyone within his vicinity. He would have gone into Sage Mode or tried to access the Kyubi's chakra, but he was still recovering from his last battle. "Well, I might as well see what I can find. It's better than just standing around here." And with that, Naruto ventured up the road, but he soon wished that he hadn't. For as he traveled further down the road, he realized that that the smell of blood was steadily growing stronger. Fearing the worst possible outcome, Naruto quickened his pace towards where his second most hated scent was heavily permeated, only to realize that his destination was heavily permeated with the one smell that he hated most of all: death.

'_I hope it's not what I think it is._' thought Naruto, desperately trying to convince himself that it wouldn't be as bad as he made it out to be. But it was just wishful thinking on his part. As he got to a four way intersection Naruto was treated to a sight that he would never forget. Blood was splattered all over the area, most of it looked pretty fresh. Small fires were burning all around him, burning severely wrecked buildings or the mangled four-wheeled vehicles, shooting black smoke up into the air. Then he saw the several corpses of people, savagely mutilated and dismembered, as if some wild beast had attacked them. He nearly vomited at seeing what had once been human beings reduced to such an utterly destroyed state. And it didn't help calm his already frazzled nerves that he heard people screaming, unintelligible moans, and sounds of explosions frequently occurring further ahead of him. Yet these explosions were not like the ones he had become used to from explosive tags; they were more of a sharp bang, with an echoing aftershock.

Nonetheless, it made Naruto all the more wary of his current predicament. Preparing for the worst, Naruto unfurled the only weapons storage scroll that he had in tact, and replenished the shuriken and kunai that he had lost with his battle against Madara. Figuring that it was better to be safe than sorry, he also unsealed a pair of sheathed ninjatoes and secured them on his back in an overlapping X pattern. And as a final touch, he untied his headband and sealed into the scroll. While he was normally proud to wear his Konoha headband for all to see, he recalled one of Jiraiya's lectures about how there were a few territories outside the Elemental Nations that didn't take kindly to shinobi. And by now, he was beginning to think that he had somehow been transported to one of those regions, thanks to Madara.

As he made his way further into the unknown territory, the more his unease increased. There were more and more maimed corpses littered all over the street, and yet there was still no clues as to what could have caused devastation. Suddenly, he heard a moan from behind him. He stopped to see what it was, and was surprised to see a man that he had previously seen face down on the road staggering towards him.

"H-hey buddy, are you alright?" he asked nervously. The nameless man said nothing as he continued to slowly make his way towards the ninja.

"Buddy?" Naruto asked again, not liking this little confrontation one bit. The man's eyes were glassed over, had numerous deep slashes on his body, and his clothes were stained with blood. But what was the final clincher for Naruto was the fact that this person seemed to reek of death. Seeing that he wasn't going to get a response from this person, Naruto turned his back on him and continued on his way. _That _proved to be a big mistake, as the man lunged at him with his jaws poised to attack. Luckily, Naruto sensed the attack quickly, and managed to evade before his assailant was even close to striking him.

"Dude, what the hell's your problem?" demanded Naruto. But he got no answer, as the dead man struck again. Like the first time, Naruto had no trouble dodging, but was soon taken by surprise when the man's strikes became faster and more wilder, as if he were a starving beast desperately trying to kill his prey. After one instance in which he was close to losing a finger, Naruto unsheathed his right ninjato, and sliced through the man's left arm, severing it in a shower of blood. But to his surprise, the man didn't show any signs of pain or even awareness that he was down one arm; he had just continued his assault. The being before had degraded into nothing more than savage beast, thrashing and snarling at him with the intent to kill, as if it were close to dying of starvation. A near miss with one of _its _claws was the final breaking point for Naruto, as he retaliated by beheading the decaying creature with a swift swing of his ninjato. In a geyser of blood, the living corpse collapsed to the ground, still and lifeless, with _its_ head laying beside it. Not wanting to take any more chances, Naruto brought his foot up and smashed the severed head into the pavement.

"I...I don't believe it. Was...was that actually a _zombie_? What the **fuck**?" exclaimed Naruto in disbelief. Not wanting to stick around in case there were more of _them_ waiting around to attack, he sped off in the direction that he was previously going.

The horrible stench seemed to grow increasingly worse the further he went, but he persevered. He didn't know how far he went, or how long he was on the move before he came across something that made him stop in his tracks. He saw several of _them _storming through the gates towards a building that was called _Fujimi Academy._ What he assumed to be administrators or teachers were out in the court yard attempting to prevent the intruders from entering the building and attacking the students, completely unaware of the severity of what they were facing. And given the fact that they were not armed with any sort of weapons, they were quickly overpowered, and devoured by the living dead. Cursing to himself as he saw _them _break through the doors and swarm into the school, Naruto stealthily made his way to the side of the school. Seeing that he wasn't spotted or noticed by large group that was still bottle-necking through the narrow entrance, he dashed up the building as if he were running up a tree, stopping at every window to see if he could beat the decaying predators to their intended prey.

But things were looking grim, as he ascended the levels of the school. He saw that despite being decomposing corpses, _they _were just as deadly and proficient hunters as any predator he would find in the wild. Classrooms were either filled with _them_ already tearing up students and teachers alike, or _they _had just barged in and immediately began their attack. Soon the entire school was filled with guttural snarls, terrified screams, and the horrendous sounds of flesh and bones being forcibly torn apart. Desperate to find someone that wasn't under attack, he had nearly missed the window of the room of what appeared to be school's clinic. Backing up to get a closer look at the sole two occupants, which turned out to be a male student and an adult woman, he was pleased to see that the two were unharmed. But, his ease was replaced with trepidation when he remembered why he was scaling the wall, and then panic when he saw eight of _them_ break through the door and instantly attack the student before setting their sights on the woman. Having finally had enough of watching from the sidelines, Naruto smashed his way through the window, unsheathed his twin ninjatos whilst channeling his wind chakra through the blades, leaped in front of the woman and unleashed the wind chakra from his blades in a twin wind-enhanced sword slash. The invisible blades of wind flew silently as they easily cut the horde into thirds, and through the wall as well as the adjacent wall behind it.

Seeing that none of _them_ were moving after his attack, luckily because the attack had destroyed _their_ heads, he sheathed his blades and turned to see if the woman was hurt. Yet, he was left speechless upon seeing the woman for the first time; she was...beautiful. Long yellowish blonde hair framed her flawless unblemished face, and flowed behind her back in a ponytail that reached to the small of her back, tied off near the hair's ends. Her brown eyes were currently wide, no doubt due to what she had just witnessed. Her hourglass figure was heavily accentuated by the white lab coat she was wearing. She had amazingly shaped hips that were covered by a black skirt that seemed to be painted on, and long skinny legs. But the most prominent trait that Naruto noticed was her impressively large breasts that were pushing her white blouse to the breaking point. It was like she was the perfect nurse that Konoha Hospital never had. Hell, if he had ever had nurse like her whenever he was in the hospital, he would've been more than willing to stay instead of trying to sneak out like he usually did.

"So...beautiful..." murmured Naruto, not knowing that he had actually said that out loud. But the blonde nurse _did_ hear it, which broke her out of her fear induced catatonic state. She looked up from where she had collapsed to her savior, noticing him for the first time.

"Hm? Do I know you?" she asked with half lidded eyes, with her head tilted in a slight angle. That brought Naruto out of his inner...musings..., and thus turned his attention back the the woman before him with a slight blush adorning his cheeks. She was looking at him with a curious expression.

"Sorry about that." he said awkwardly, his hand scratching the back of his head. "But you sort of remind me of someone I know. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" he asked as he helped the woman to her feet, and noted that he was a few centimeters taller than her when she was standing.

The woman shook her head "No, you got them before they could bite me."

"Bite you?"

"Yes, that's how the infection spreads. If an infected manages to bite a person, it'll only be a matter of time before the victim reverts to a state similar to their attacker." she explained, her gaze nervously darting back and forth from him to the corpses on the floor.

"Shit! So it really is like those horror movies." grumbled Naruto. "Just how did all of this happen anyway?"

But before the voluptuous woman could answer him, a girl ran into the clinic wielding a bokken. She had long purple hair, blue eyes, and was wearing what looked like the school's uniform that complemented her figure. She eyes quickly surveyed the room, taking notice of the trisected bodies and the two deep long cuts that went through the walls. Her steeled gaze then settled on Naruto once she saw the two swords that were strapped to his back.

"You there! Who are you, and are you doing with Marikawa-san?" interrogated the the swordswoman, as she readied herself to attack the stranger, in case he was going to get violent. Naruto was about to answer when the nurse placed herself in front of him.

"It's alright, he's not dangerous. In fact, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive right now." said the nurse, trying to calm the girl down. This seemed to work, as the kendo enthusiast relaxed her grip on her wooden sword but her hawk-like eyes still lingered on him.

"Is this true? Did you really help Marikawa-san?" she asked.

Naruto looked affronted at her question. "If I wanted to harm her, I would have done so the moment I got in here." he said.

"And how exactly did you get here quick enough to help? I was two floors below this one, and there was already a mass of _them_ heading towards this room."

"Well, would you have believed that I swung down from the floor above this one, and managed to get to this room merely by luck?" said Naruto, his expression betraying the panic he was feeling at the girl's sudden interrogation. He had a feeling that things would only get worse if he told the truth.

The girl just stood there staring into his eyes, trying find any hint of deceit. The stare-down lasted for nearly a whole minute before the girl's posture relaxed, and gave the outsider a courteous bow.

"Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, but with the current predicament, one can never be too careful. My name is Saeko Busujima. Thank you for saving our school's nurse." she said politely.

The nurse got next Saeko, and bowed as well, which Naruto noted made her...assets... move in a particularly enjoyable way. "And I am Shizuka Marikawa, Fujimi Academy's nurse. Thank you for saving me."

Naruto, not wanting to seem rude, he bowed as well. "Naruto Uzumaki. It's pleasure to meet the two of you."

Before anything else could be said, the trio heard low moan coming from the floor, which turned out to be the boy Naruto saw get attacked by _them_. He was in a terrible state: deep and gaping flesh wounds all over his body, and he was laying in a pool of his own blood. Saeko and Naruto shared a brief look of understanding before Saeko went over to the downed student, whilst Naruto turned his attention to Shizuka, making sure that she didn't look back where Saeko was.

"Hey, uh, Marikawa-san?" started Naruto, getting the busty blonde's attention. "I think that it would be best if you closed your eyes and covered your ears for a while."

"Hm? Why?" she asked, oblivious to the conversation Saeko was having with the downed boy.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" said Naruto pleadingly, as he saw Saeko raising her bokken for an overhead strike. Luckily, Shizuka humored him with his request just as the purlpette brought down her sword on the boy's head, destroying his brain and therefore permanently killing him.

Seeing that there wasn't going to be a follow-up, Naruto gently pulled one of Shizuka's arms away from her ear. "Okay, it's safe now." he said gently.

After Saeko closed the poor boy's eyes in a sign of respect, she peaked out of the scarred doorway to see if there were any of _them _lurking around. Seeing that the coast is clear, she turned her attention back to the blonde duo.

"It looks like the coast is clear for now. But it will only be a matter of time before more of _them_ find us. And to make matters worse, we don't know how exactly _they_ can track us. But from what I've observed, a blow to the head is the only sure way to kill _them. _Any other wound inflicted on them will be useless." she explained.

"So what's the plan? We stay hear and clear up all the zombies in the school? Because I _really_ hate being cooped up in a building that's already been broken into; there's no surer way to get killed then staying here." added Naruto.

"Agreed. So our best option is to gather up as many medical supplies from here, sneak out of Fujimi, and find shelter elsewhere." said Saeko.

"Wait a minute! I've already gotten the first part taken care of." interrupted Shizuka, as she displayed a large brown hand bag. "And can't we just take my car? It would be much better than getting out of here by foot, wouldn't it?"

Naruto remained silent; he didn't know what the hell this _car_ was. Saeko, on the other hand, looked somewhat relieved.

"That would be more favorable to our chances of survival." she said.

"Oh shoot! I had forgotten in all of this chaos that I don't have my car keys with me. We need to go back to the faculty room to get them." she said despondently.

Saeko frowned slightly. "Then we'll have to make a small detour, but we'll have to be quick about it. Alright then, we'll travel in a single file line. I'll lead the group, with Marikawa-san in the middle, whilst Naruto covers the rear. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

Both Shizuka and Naruto shook their heads for different reasons. Shizuka was still shell shocked from what just occurred before her, and was in no shape to fight off any of _them_. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't know the building's layout, and knew that they couldn't afford to waste time. So without any further discussion, the trio crept out of the ruined clinic and started to make their way to the faculty room, ever vigilant and alert for any unpleasant surprises that may have been waiting for them. Luckily the hallways were empty, with nothing but the mangled corpses of students and teachers alike littering the floor. Unfortunately, they didn't travel far before there was already a problem. Shizuka couldn't keep up with the pace that Saeko was keeping, and had almost tripped a few times. But when Naruto finally heard her gasp and squeak out in surprise when she nearly fell, he immediately acted without thinking. He looped his arm around her waist preventing her from falling on the floor, but both were supporting blushes from the action.

"Oh jeez, what is this?" exclaimed Shizuka as Naruto set her down back on her feet, getting fed up with constantly tripping.

"Hm, this is taking to long." said Saeko, turning to face Shizuka. "Your clothing isn't really mad for running." Without warning, Saeko took hold of the left side of Shizuka's skirt, and ripped a huge tear that went up to the waistband to make slit in it,resulting in showing fair bit of the nurse's leg. Naruto's blush resurfaced, as he tried to keep under control.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? This skirt was Prada!" exclaimed the nurse. She was most certainly not pleased with Saeko's actions.

"We're pressed for time, and your skirt is hindering your mobility. Which is more important to you: a clothing brand or your life?" she asked testily.

"Both!" answered Shizuka without hesitation.

Naruto just looked at the two girls in disbelief. '_We've barely made it out of the clinic, and already the girls are arguing about clothing. Oi vey, this is going to_ _be a long day._' thought Naruto.

**I**

Naruto was normally ecstatic whenever he was right about something, but he wasn't this time around. On their way to the faculty room, his group had ran into four other survivors that were being attacked by _them_. The two boys (Takashi Kumuro and Kohta Hirano) were holding them off with a metal bat and a crudely assembled projectile weapon respectively. The girl with long brown hair (Rei Miyamoto) was fighting with a makeshift spear, while the girl who had her pink hair in twin pony tails (Saya Takagi) was fight them off with a cordless drill of all things. Quickly, he and Saeko rushed in to assist the four students, before they and Shizuka decided to join up with them, figuring that there would safety in numbers. But, that also meant that they wouldn't all be able to fit into Shizuka's car. This meant that they had to get the keys to something called a school bus. Naruto had no idea what they were talking about, but decided that it wouldn't be too tactful to ask what a bus was, in order to avoid suspicion from the group.

And even after they had gotten the necessary keys, they had to somehow make their way across an entire parking lot full of _them_ in order to get to the bus_. _It was at that point that Saya mentioned how the zombies seemed to only react to sound, meaning that they used their sense of hearing in order to track victims. She also mentioned that while _their_ bodies were decaying, the undead before them had the strength to rip off doors easily. With that in mind the group quietly crept towards the bus, trying not to garner any attention. At first, everything went swimmingly well, and it seemed as if they weren't going to have any trouble.

But then, some poor student that had managed to get out of the school on his own had gone and ruined everything when he accidentally hit the metal pipe that he had been using as a weapon against a pole. The resulting sound was all it took for hell to break loose. The lone student and the group were immediately attacked by _them _with frightening ferocity. The loner stood no chance, and was instantly ripped apart. Naruto's group, on the other hand, fared a lot better, partially due to the fact that they were already pretty close to their means of escape, and they had plenty of experience of fighting the undead already. Whilst Shizuka, Rei, and Saya went to go start the bus, the remaining four stayed behind to provide cover. Naruto had no problem holding his own, as he practically threw himself into thralls of _them_, slashing away with his twin swords.

Yet, he was not too preoccupied to get a few glimpses of how the others were doing. Saeko, he noticed, fought with the grace of a samurai, as she struck _them_ down with her wooden sword. Even though she didn't wield an actual blade, she was still a force to be reckoned with. He could tell that Kohta specialized in long ranged combat, as he managed to shoot down zombie after zombie with frightening accuracy with his homemade weapon. The weapon itself reminded him of those kunai launchers that the Sky shinobi used. As for Takashi, well...he could tell that his heart was in the right place and had the right spirit, but it was obvious that the boy was just an average civilian thrust into a crisis situation. While he had the strength and stamina to fight, he was constantly left open to a possible sneak attack... such as the one that stalking up behind him!

"Shit! Takashi, behind you!" warned Naruto, as he threw a wind enhanced kunai at_ its_ head. The kunai went through the head like a knife through hot butter. By the time Takashi had time to act on Naruto's warning his attacker was falling to the ground with blood gushing out of a gaping hole where its blind left eye used to be. Takashi paled slightly at how close he had been to succumbing to Hisashi's fate.

"Thanks, Naruto-san! I owe you one!" yelled Takashi, before launching himself back into combat against _them. _Despite killing a majority of the horde there were still several more dragging themselves closer to the group. Naruto could hear the the three young women inside the vehicle becoming frantic as they continued to try and get the bus started.

"Damn it! Just how many more are there? I don't think I have enough ammo to keep going like this!" shouted Kohta.

"What's taking so long back there?" shouted Takashi.

"Just hold on a bit longer!" Rei shouted. We've almost-" Whatever she was going to say was drowned out by the loud roar of the bus's diesel engine, nearly making Naruto jump.

"That's more I like it!" said Takashi.

"WAIT!" came a voice in the distance. That's when the zombie smashers saw a group of students lead by spectacled man dressed in a striped suit. Right away, Naruto felt that something was off from this man. From the way he carried himself to that fake expression on his face, it felt as if he was facing Orochimaru all over again.

"Hey, who is that guy?" asked Naruto, as he beheaded another zombie.

"That's Koichi Shido. He's a teacher at Fujimi Academy." answered Saeko, her eyes narrowed at the man.

"Don't let him get on!" Rei shouted angrily from the where she was standing on the bus's entrance.

"What? But Rei, there's-"

"Trust me Takashi, you'll regret saving him." answered Rei, as she sneered at the approaching man like he was the worst kind of criminal ever to exist. Sure enough, a boy from his group tripped and sprained his ankle. Shido stopped by him, as his group continued on towards the school bus. But instead of helping the boy, the smiling man kicked him further away before walking calmly to the bus, not even glancing back as the downed boy was eaten alive by _them_.

'_That bastard!_' raged Naruto, glaring at he man as he thanked Takashi for waiting for him and his group before stepping on board. He had just met the guy, and already Naruto wanted to gut the son of a bitch. Putting those hateful thoughts aside, Naruto made sure that he was the last board the bus before Shizuka drove off. But as the younger blonde was about to make his way to a seat further back, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the nurse was constantly trembling and flinched whenever she hit one of _them_. Even though they were dead, she was technically running people over.

"Hey, Marikawa-san?" said Naruto quietly.

"Y-yes?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Look, I know that this isn't easy for you. But you need to remember, none of _them_ are human beings anymore. _They _have all died a long time ago, reduced to mindless shells of their former selves. So don't try to avoid hitting _them_, they can't feel anything anymore." said Naruto. He felt terrible for saying something so harsh to her, but she needed to keep her head on straight at a time like this. "Look, I know this sounds heartless, but-"

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. I understand where you're trying to say." she said with a faint smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Something about the way she had said that made Naruto think that she was just putting up a brave face for his sake. But since he couldn't offer to drive for her, he decided to humor her and let her go on as she was.

He walked over to where the five teens he met earlier were gathered. Near the very end of the bus sat that Shido guy with his group of students. But even from where Naruto was standing, he could see how thecollection of students looked at the cruel man as if he were their god; their savior, as if he was their entire world. That just made Naruto hate the man even more. It was just too similar to when Nagato had adopted his Pain persona, or with Tobi/Madara; they were so full of themselves and had no problem using other people to accomplish their own goals.

"-uto-san?"

Naruto broke out of his thoughts to see that the boy named Kohta was talking to him. "Uh, I'm sorry, could you repeat that Kohta? I sorta zoned out for a while."

"I said, that you were pretty cool out there, hacking away at _them_ with those swords of yours. And you made it look so easy, too!" the glasses wearing gun expert said enthusiastically.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. You did well out there yourself. Especially with that weapon of yours. Did you actually make that on your own? That's pretty impressive."

Kohta just grinned, and affectionately patted his crafted gun. "Yep, made this baby from scratch! Sure, it's not like the guns I've trained with before, but it gets the done job done!"

"Ugh, not this again! Yes, we know that you're a firearms expert, you don't need to remind us every five minutes." muttered Saya. She then turned her sights towards Naruto. "I don't remember seeing _you_ around before. What school do you go to?"

"Uh, well, the thing is I'm not from around here. I guess you can say that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." he said sheepishly.

"Really? What kind of person walks around with two swords strapped to his back?" she continued, her eyes taking on a hardened stare.

"I was at a martial arts tournament when things went south. I just figured that they would be more useful tied to my back than in their carrying case." Naruto lied. "And besides, I'd think that two ninjatoes would be more effective against _them_ than a _cordless drill_, wouldn't you?" he teased. Saya looked like she wanted to explode at him, but someone decided to interrupt their little conversation.

"Now, now, let's all calm down." oiled the voice of Koichi Shido as he approached closer to the six teenagers, that sickening grin still present on his face. "Where our young friend had gotten his swords isn't something we should worry about. Our main focus should be on surviving through this disaster. And to ensure our survival, we'll need a leader. After all, it was _you_ that led your group to this bus in the first place, right Busujima-san?"

Saeko's eyes narrowed at the teacher. "No, we got this far by working together. There was no leader in our our group." she said evenly.

"Well, that may have worked for _your_ little group of seven, but that won't cut it now that we have more people." Shido said, his smile growing wider as he turned back to the students that had followed him. "If we are to survive, we need a leader."

"And I take there's only one person that's qualified for that responsibility?" scowled Saya.

"Well, I _am_ a reputable teacher, so that should ease everyone's doubts." he said, to which his followers broke out in applause. The whole situation from there on then just degraded horrendously. The moment Shido was made leader due to a _majority vote_, Rei exploded with rage on the grounds that she would never follow a slime ball like him. Naruto suspected that Rei had a bad history with the teacher, considering how she was so vehemently against him, but filed that away as something to ask later. Unfortunately, Rei's outburst gave the bastard an opening to practically oust her from the bus, which his brainwashed cult readily agreed was the best idea. Takashi was about to physically show how much he was against the idea, when one of the more violent _Shidoists_ stepped up to defend his leader and possible kill Takashi as well. Luckily, Rei managed to bring down the attacker with a well placed jab from the dull end of her spear before he could even get close to Takashi. Before even any more violence could erupt, Shizuka managed stop everyone in their tracks, yelling at them all as if she were scolding a bunch of misbehaving children. Unfortunately, she had left the wheel of the bus to do so, temporarily making it go out of control. But on the bright side, no one else was willing to lash out violently again.

All the same, that didn't mean that Rei was willing to be in the same bus as Shido any longer. She demanded that Shizuka stop the bus, and marched right off with Takashi trailing behind her, who was trying his best to calm Rei down before she did anything irrational. That was when a bus filled with survivors and _them_ came hurtling at them, forcing the duo to take cover in a tunnel, which was soon blocked by the bus. Luckily, Saeko was able to confirm with Takashi that they would meet up at the police station by tomorrow at seven if they didn't find away to rendezvous with each other. Once Saeko was back on the bus, Shido tried to "console" their small group by saying that they had tried their best, and it wasn't their fault the the two "traitors" had left, in which his cult vigorously agreed with him once again. Naruto was about snap at the man whom he considered to be the reincarnation of Orochimaru, but a flying nail from Kohta had beaten him to the punch. The nail came exceptionally close to piercing his cheek, which caused the teacher to scream in fright.

"That's it! I've had just about enough of your voice that I can take! You so much as say either Takashi or Rei's name again, and it'll be the last thing you ever do!" roared Kohta, his eyes blazing with unadulterated rage.

"N-now, now, Hirano-kun, let's be reasonable about this." said Shido, as he slowly backed away from the nail gun wielding boy. His hands were up in front of him in a placating manner, and a bead of sweat was slowly sliding down his brow.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" roared Kohta, his eyes taking on a sort of manic look. "I utterly despised you when everything was normal, so what makes you think that I'm gonna listen to you now that everything's gone to hell? You always bullied me whenever I was in your classroom. Everyday, you made sure to make me feel miserable. And on top of that, you _encouraged_ the other students to pick on me as well! I've put up with your and everyone's abuse because I knew that there was nothing that could've been done about it, and that you'd just weasel your way out of any trouble like you always did. But now that the world we know no longer exists, I won't put up with for a second longer! Did you know that I've killed several of _them_ on my own without flinching, _Sensei_? And how that despite the the fact _they_ were already dead, _they_ looked like regular people? That's helped dull the shock a lot. So now, I won't have any problems with killing a person that's still alive!" Kohta then leveled his nail gun at the man's head, a dark grin forming on his face. Naruto couldn't help but be impressed at the boy's loyalty to his friends, and his courage to stand up against Shido and his students.

"I-I-I-If you wish to leave, Hirano-kun, then you're free to go." Shido said, his smile still on his face, as his gaze settled on Shizuka, who was still standing by the wheel. "But I request that Marikawa-san stays behind."

The man licked his lips, as he leered at the buxom blonde with poorly disguised lust. "Oh yes. It would be such a shame if we had lost our nurse." was the last thing he said before his world exploded into unimaginable pain.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" snarled Naruto, as he closed the distance between them in a second, and slammed a vicious right jab right into the man's his nose, breaking it and sending blinding waves of pain throughout his entire head. But the blonde wasn't finished with him just yet. Naruto's left hand snatched onto Shido's shoulder, which he used to keep the man from escaping has he landed two more jabs on him: another one to the already bleeding nose, and another to his throat, causing him to cough and splutter from the sudden disruption in his breathing.

"Brainwashing young impressionable minds into practically worshiping you, willing to sacrifice other people just to save your worthless life, seeing women as nothing more than your personal play things, scumbags like you give men everywhere a bad name!" thundered Naruto.

His right hand grabbed Shido's other shoulder, before he landed a powerful knee strike to his solar plexus, but gave the pitiful excuse for a man no chance to react before he reared his right knee again and slammed it into the bastard's crotch. He took some sort of grim satisfaction when he heard the pitiful wheeze/squeal of pain from the man whilst he crouched down to grasp his abused family jewels. Still enraged with the monster in human skin before him, Naruto finished his assault with another knee strike to the man's solar plexus that struck at the same time as the double overhead haymaker he landed on his back. Shido collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing in pain.

The student that was downed by Rei earlier on scrambled from the ground and charged at Naruto, his right arm reared back as he roared with rage. As the punch neared Naruto's face, he simply batted the offending limb to his left, making the attacker stumble while leaving his left flank open. With a flick of his right wrist, a kunai knife slipped from his right sleeve and into his hand, before he flipped it in a reverse hand grip, and stabbed the blade deep into the boy's shoulder whilst twisting it a bit to give the screaming boy a little "souvenir". As quickly as he buried it, Naruto withdrew the kunai, before he grabbed the teen by his hair, and smashed his head against the metal side of the bus, knocking him out cold. Settling his glare back to the remaining _Shidoists_, he was glad that they were still seated in the back, staring back him with fear in their eyes.

"Marikawa-san, Busujima-san, Takagi-san, Hirano-san, I'll provide cover whilst you all get off the bus." said Naruto, his eyes never leaving the group of students nor their cult leader.

"And leave you alone with these psychopaths? No way, Naruto-san. I'm staying here with you." declared Kohta, as he got next to him, pointing his gun at the group, giving the cult more incentives not to try anything. The three girls, on the other hand, managed to get out.

"Thank you Uzumaki-san, Hirano-san, the both of you are truly honorable men." said Saeko, before she made her was outside, leaving Naruto and Kohta alone with Shido and his cult.

"Hey, Kohta," began Naruto, "do you mind waiting outside for a little while? There are a few things that I want to say to Mr. Cult Leader privately."

"What? But what if-"

"I'll be fine on my own, Kohta. Trust me." said Naruto. Kohta looked unsure for a moment before he finally conceded and walked backwards to the exit, his eyes and gun trained on the group until he was outside. Seeing that he was alone, Naruto kicked Shido onto his back, before he grabbed the collar of the man's shirt and lifted him off the ground with strength one wouldn't believe that a teenager could have. Shido tried to pry himself from the blonde's grip before a oppressing sense of dread overcame him and his students. As the beaten man slowly looked his assailant in the eye, he saw that that the whisker marks on his cheeks seemed to have deepened, and his once blue eyes had taken on a red color with slits for pupils.

"**I'm only going to say this once, so you had **_**better**_** pay attention. If I so much as get the feeling that you are ever anywhere near our group again, make no mistake, I will personally slaughter your little following in front of you, before I SKIN YOU ALIVE AND THEN TEAR YOU APART LIMB BY LIMB! YOU GOT THAT, ASS-WIPE?**" said Naruto, allowing the Kyubi's chakra to alter his voice. Shido, too scared to vocally reply nodded his head. In response, Naruto tossed him towards the back the bus, causing Shido to collide against his students. Whilst they were looking over their _beloved_ sensei, Naruto quickly made his way off of the bus to join up with the four others that were waiting for him.

**END OF PART 1 **

**AN: I know that I said that this this was going to be a one shot, but at the rate I was going, it would just be too long to my liking. So I guess this will be a _three_-shot? Maybe a _four-_shot? I'll work on that and get back to you on that. Don't forget to Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Love Amongst Survivors**

**Hi ev'rybady! I'm back, and with the second installment! Same as always, I own nada! **

**Part 2 **

**II**

_**Last time on Love Amongst Survivors**_

"_**I'm only going to say this once, so you had better pay attention. If I so much as get the feeling that you are ever anywhere near our group ever again, make no mistake, I will personally slaughter your little following in front of you, before I SKIN YOU ALIVE AND THEN TEAR YOU APART LIMB BY LIMB! YOU GOT THAT, ASS-WIPE?**" said Naruto, allowing the Kyubi's chakra to alter his voice. Shido, too scared to vocally reply nodded his head. In response, Naruto tossed him towards the back the bus, causing Shido to collide against his students. Whilst they were looking over their beloved sensei, Naruto quickly made his way off of the bus to join up with the four others that were waiting for him. _

_Flashback end_

**Story Start:**

**II**

_Flashback start_

'_Somehow, I feel like we got the short end of the stick, as far as the whole bus thing is considered._' were the sarcastic thoughts of one ninja, as he tried to think of a reason as to why things just had to turn south with everything that he and his group went through. Right after he had stepped off the school bus, Shido had immediately scrambled to the driver's set and reversed the vehicle down the road that they had just traveled down, no doubt in an attempt to find another unblocked road. This left the group of five to try and find Takashi and Rei on foot. They didn't have to go far, before they were were swarmed by _them_. To make matters worse, the ragtag team of survivors were surrounded on a bridge, meaning that there was no chance of escape, except by jumping off the edge and plunging to their watery deaths. So without hesitation, Naruto, Saeko, and Kohta got into a defensive triangular formation with Saya and Shizuka in the middle. Naruto and Saeko were facing the side that had the most of _them_ creeping towards their position, whilst Kohta guarded the rear.

"Damn, there's at least twice as much as_ them_ here than at the school!" exclaimed Naruto, as he sliced through another undead that was approaching his right. "At this rate, I don't think we're going to make it."

Suddenly, he heard Shizuka's scream, followed by Saya's startled yelp. Fearing the worse, the ninja was about to charge back towards their position, when he saw something that immediately had him blushing. Apparently, Shizuka had gotten scared, and clung to Saya's back by force of habit. The genius girl was caught by surprise from the sudden weight, and collapsed to the ground leaving them in a suggestive position with both their rear ends sticking up in the air, and Shizuka's bust pressed firmly against the back of Saya's head.

_'Man, I wish that was **me **in Saya's place._' thought Naruto, before he slapped himself in the face, snapping himself out of his daydream. '_Well, shit. Looks like Jiraiya managed to corrupt me after all._' He also noticed Kohta was observing the girls as well, his eyes glassy and a blush stretched across his cheeks. But like Naruto, the weapons specialist brought himself back to reality. The two made brief eye contact with each other, as if coming to some sort of silent agreement, before turning their attention back to horde.

"I'm so sorry, Takagi-san. I got scared, and acted without thinking." apologized the nurse.

'_Tch, yeah, I'll say._' thought Saya, as she observed the three teens fighting against all of _them_. She couldn't help but feel utterly useless, considering that she couldn't help fight, and had thus far only provided strategical advice.

"Hhmm, maybe leaving the bus wasn't such a good idea after all." Shizuka mused to herself. Saya just looked at her, incredulously.

"You actually wanted to stay with that sleazeball? I thought that you hated him!"

Shizuka looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well, that's true. I really don't like him at all.

"Well, _that's _one thing we all agree on! Koichi Shido is manipulative, self-centered bastard that we should have left at the school. I guess we owe Rei an apology." said Naruto, as he kicked one of _them_ down to the ground, the head cracking against the pavement. "But there's one thing that I don't get: why did we give up the bus to that bastard and his brood?"

Saya just sneered at him as if he said he believed that the sky was pink. "Isn't it obvious? Shido had us outnumbered! He would've had us k-"

"That doesn't answer my question." interrupted Naruto. "_We_ crept around the school filled with the undead. _We_ had to fight off several of _them_ just to get that bus! And yet Shido and his flunkies ended up with the damn thing, after _we_ did all the hard work!" He heavily emphasized each _we_ by beheading one of _them_.

"Even if that's true, they-"

"And hell, we even had weapons! Sure, we might have had to rough a few people up, maybe even stab a few bastards, but I think that we could have _convinced _them to leave."

"Enough bickering, you two. What happened on the bus is in the past. There's no point griping about what we should have done." declared Saeko, as she turned another one of _them's _brain into mush. She had a feeling that that things would progressively worsen between the two bickering teens, and wanted to nip it in the bud before their arguing caused their group to become vulnerable. It seemed to have worked, as Naruto and Saya didn't say another word afterward. She and Naruto fell back to the two non-combatants, just as Kohta finished _them_ off. But just as that problem was laid to rest, another one reared its ugly head.

"Alright guys, I've managed to take care of the rear flank, but I barely have enough nails to keep this up!" stated Kohta, as he loaded his last clip.

Saeko held up her wooden sword, which was covered in blood and brain matter. "Would you prefer to use this for a while?" she asked, a smile on her face.

Kohta paled a bit at the sight of the bloodied weapon. "Uh, t-thanks, but no thanks, Busujima-san, I'm more of a ranged fighter."

"Then how good is your aim with _these_?" Without even turning around, Naruto withdrew a handful of four-point shuriken from his back pouch.

Kohta's eyes sparkled at seeing so many of the famed ninja weaponry for a moment, before he looked slightly downtrodden. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I'd probably end up wasting those awesome throwing stars of yours."

Naruto just shrugged, and returned the stars to his pouch for later use, without noticing the scrutinizing look that Saya was sending towards him. The group of five stared intently at the large group of _them_ shuffled towards them, the three combatants steeling themselves for what was to come, whilst the two unarmed young women stood behind them. Without any warning, Naruto and Saeko charged the swarm of undead with their weapons poised to attack, whilst Kohta opened fire with his weapon from his position. The two sword wielders dived into the mass of living corpses, practically gliding through the crowd, their weapons striking with deadly intensity. From afar, it looked as if the two were dancing, from the way they were weaving in and out the narrow spaces amongst each of _them_. Meanwhile, Kohta was hard at work trying to plow down as many of _them_ with his modified nail gun. With every press of the trigger, another one of _them_ lifelessly crashed to the ground. The chubby teen was truly proving his earlier boasts as an expert marksman true as he scored head shot after head shot.

But soon, the overwhelming numbers became too much for the survivors. Despite their best efforts, they soon found themselves being slowly pushed back. Things became even worse for Kohta, as heard the dreaded clicking that every gunslinger hated hearing during emergencies. "Shit! I'm all out of ammo!"

"Just hang on, Kohta! I'll be back there in a minute!" yelled Naruto, before a particularly obese zombie had crept disturbingly close to his personal space. Instinctively, Naruto struck with a double horizontal sword strike to _its_ fat head, but was taken by surprised when his blades merely lodged themselves into the swollen decaying flesh from the side of the head with a twin dull _**thud!**_, and then moved no further. Naruto tried freeing his weapons form the horrid creature, but they seemed to be stuck fast. He was too preoccupied with removing his swords from _its_ carcass that he didn't notice one creeping towards him. It was only when he managed to yank the blades free did he notice the danger he was in. But by then, _it _was so close to him that he had no chance to evade.

**THWACK! **

Luckily, _it _was promptly disposed of by Saeko's bokken. The blonde didn't say a word, but instead smiled at the kendo specialist in gratitude for her assistance, to which the girl returned. Running quickly, the two placed themselves in front of their group all the while slowly backing up as _they_ slowly advanced forward. It wasn't looking good for the five survivors, and Naruto was vastly considering going back on his resolve on not using ninjutsu.

Luckily, before he could even begin to mold his chakra, the sound of a motor cut through the air. It sounded smaller than a car, and it was quickly approaching the five from behind, if the sound's increasing intensity was anything to go by. Looking back to see just what was making that infernal racket, they were just in time to see Takashi and Rei fly through the air on a motorcycle (though Naruto didn't know what the vehicle was called), having used an overturned car as a makeshift ramp.

"Kohta, use this!" shouted Takashi, as he threw something to the gun otaku as he plowed through _them_ with the bike, whilst Rei jousted the undead with her spear, the tip ripping through _their_ heads. The new and more louder sound proved to be a much welcomed distraction, as _they_ immediately turned their attention to the couple on the bike and started to shuffle towards the newcomers. With the heat now off of their backs for the time being, Naruto found that he and Saeko had chance for a quick breather before they had to go help the two newcomers before _they _got to them.

"No way!" exclaimed Kohta, bringing everyone's attention to him, and the gun that was now in his hands. "A Smith & Wesson M37 Air-Weight, just like what the police use! This is perfect!" and with that he renewed his assault on _them_, reducing head after head to fragments of bone, brain matter and dead flesh. Naruto and Saeko placed themselves back to back, covering for each other as they hacked and sliced through any of _them_ that came their way. Soon, it seemed as if they were actually going to live another day, as the number of _them_ steadily declined. Suddenly, the two heard the sound of the motor bike, and the high speed impacts of several bodies, approaching to their position. Braving a glance, Naruto was surprised to see Takashi and Rei barreling through the horde, knocking several of _them _over the edge of the bridge.

"Uzumaki-san! Busujima-san!" called Takashi, as both he and Rei both held out an arm. Figuring what he was planning, the two teens cut down their respective undead, before getting into position.

Time seemed to slow down for the four combatants, as Saeko grabbed Takashi's hand, and while Rei's hand managed to clasp onto Naruto's. As Takashi stared into Saeko's eyes, he couldn't stop the blush from appearing when he saw her smile. As for Rei, she was surprised to see that Naruto's eyes had a hardened and calm look to them, as if all that was happening around him was an everyday occurrence for him.

With a hard yank on the throttle, Takashi turned the bike in numerous circles, whilst he and Rei dragged the two swordsmen along with them. Letting the forward momentum of the bike and gravity do their jobs, the blonde and purplette let go at the same moment, and plowed through the last of them that were trying to surround the teenagers. The power behind their attacks propelled the lead zombies from both sides back, causing _them_ to crash into the ones behind, sending all of _them_ over the edge. With no more of _them_ up and about, the seven survivors could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"We did it! We did it!" cheered Shizuka, as she bounced up and down whilst clapping her hands.

Saya just looked at her with mild annoyance. "Humph! Like we did anything to help." she muttered.

Naruto just flicked his blades, flinging _their_ blood off and onto the ground, before sliding them into the sheathes. Turning around, he made brief eye contact with Saeko, both of them giving a slight nod of respect towards each other. Looking on he saw Rei hug Takashi, which caused the boy to blush, before running off to embrace Shizuka in a way that suggested that they had some sort of history between them. This left Saeko the chance to talk to the boy.

"It is good to see that you are alright, Takashi-san." murmured Saeko, as she smiled at the boy.

Takashi just smiled back. "Thank you, Busujima-san. It great to see that you're safe and sound as well."

Naruto couldn't help but see Rei scowl at the two, before she turned her attention to him.

"Uzumaki-san! It's great to see you alive!" she exclaimed happily.

"Oh! Uh, thanks, Miyamoto-san!" was his reply. But he was unaware of the agitated looks Saeko and Takashi sent towards him and Rei. But the two didn't dwell on that for too long, as there were more pressing matters to take care of first. Now that they were all together again, Takashi believed that the best course of action would be to continue their way to his and Rei's neighborhood in order to check on their families. Shizuka, on the other hand, suggested that the group take time to rest and recuperate, on the grounds that it would soon be dark. Saya supported the idea, saying that it would be dangerous traveling in the night where they could easily be ambushed by _them_, and that the group as a whole wouldn't be at their full strength to defend themselves.

But then that lead to another problem: where could they stay and be safe? Takashi and Rei had seen first hand at just how crowded the few intact buildings had become. And there was little hope that any of them would be willing to allow seven more people in. Fortunately, Shizuka knew of a place that they could stay that was very close to their current position. Apparently, she had a friend that was constantly away on work, and was given a spare key in order to help look after her home. The building in question was quite secure and a had decent view right next to a river that could be used as a lookout for any of _them_. Plus, there was supposedly a car "built like a tank" stationed there as well. Seeing as they had no other alternative, the group decided that it would be best if they checked out this house, and see if it was safe to stay in. Takashi thought that it would be a good idea if he and the nurse went off ahead, as a scout for the party, which left Saeko and the whiskered blonde in charge of security for the remaining members. But as he watched the two mount the motorcycle, with Takashi driving, he could help but chuckle (and for some reason feel slightly jealous) of the self-made leader's expression when the busty woman pressed herself against him in order to get a secure enough grip.

With the two now on their way to the apartment, the remaining members followed after the scouting party at leisurely, but guarded, pace. The silence that permeated amongst the five teens was awkward and stifling. It would make any normal person very uncomfortable, but for Naruto it was completely unbearable. Desperately thinking of some way to breaking the silence, his gaze lingered towards Rei, making him remember her intense hatred for Shido, which he later discovered was well founded.

"Hey, Miyamoto-san," he began, garnering the girl's attention, "I just want to...I mean that...look, what I'm trying to say is that you were right about that Shido guy. And, I'm sorry that I didn't offer much support when you told us not to help him back at the school. Maybe if we had listened to you, then we wouldn't be in this situation."

That seemed to have been the catalyst that the others were looking for.

"Indeed. He was quite the despicable character." added Saeko.

"I can see why you hate him so much. He truly is a psychotic sociopath; he could give Charles Manson a run for his money."

"What's worse is that _I've_ actually experienced his cruelty first-hand before any of this happened. I mean, sure, I thought that with the way things were degrading that he might have actually changed. Tch, boy was I wrong. I don't know what the hell I was thinking back then!" stated Kohta. "So, yeah, we're all sorry for not believing in you, Miyamoto-san,"

Rei just sighed. "It's alright; I'm just glad that all of you are safe. And even by some off-chance we _do_ run into him and his little following again, we'll all be on the same page on what should be done about him. But exactly what happened after Takashi and I left?"

Naruto was the one to answer first. "Well, after you two got blocked in that tunnel, that slimy weasel tried to console us by saying that we shouldn't worry about you two _traitors_. Kohta shot at him and basically told Shido not to drag your names in the mud, and that we weren't going to let him use us as his pawns." Kohta smirked as he recalled the panicked expression he had gotten out of his tormentor. Rei sent him an pleasant smile.

"When we tried to leave, the perverted bastard had the gall to demand that Marikawa-san stay behind under the excuse that his group needed a nurse. The bastard was practically licking his lips and leering at her like some piece of meat!" That caused the girls to scowl darkly, with Kohta's expression darkening considerably. "So I broke his nose, kneed him in the crotch, and basically left him gagging and coughing on the bus's floor." finished Naruto, as if he were discussing the weather.

Rei just looked at the blonde, astonished that he could be so nonchalant about savagely beating up an adult. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic that Shido had been violently attacked with prejudice.

"I would have paid money to have seen you thrash that guy around." she said, at last. "Thank you for sticking up for Takashi and me, Kohta. And thank you, Naruto, for doing what I've always dreamed of doing to that bastard. You two are truly great friends."

The two boys just smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it, Miyamoto-san." said Naruto, as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Please, just Rei is fine. I'm not a big fan of formalities." answered the girl.

Naruto just chuckled. "Alright, alright, if you insist, Rei. But I've got to ask you, just happened between you and that Shido prick. I mean, I know he's a heartless monster, but why would a girl like you have _anything_ to do with him?"

"OVER HERE! WE'RE OVER HERE, YOU GUYS!" was the shout that interrupted their little conversation. The person who was doing the shouting was none other Shizuka Marikawa, wildly waving at them. Naruto was somewhat surprised at how they had arrived to their destination without him noticing, but he had assumed that it was merely because he was distracted. As they approached to where the nurse was standing, Naruto could see that Takashi was standing next to a large vehicle that was larger than a car, but smaller than the bus they previously had, and seemed to be heavily armored.

"Huh, it really does look like a tank." Kohta thought aloud.

"This place has some pretty secure walls, so we should be safe from _them_." stated Rei. Then, as if she had activated some sort of jinx, the party of seven heard the all to familiar groans of_ them_ coming from within the fence.

"You just _had_ to say it, didn't you, Rei?" dead-panned Saya. Rei just looked sheepishly at the glare the genius girl was sending her.

"Now's not the time, Saya." interjected Takashi. He then turned to the only adult in their group. "Sensei, can you and Saya get the house open and ready? The rest of us will clear _them_ out." Shizuka wasted no time and bounded up the stairs to get the building's door open. Saya, on the other hand seemed a bit hesitant.

"But, Takashi, are you sure that it's such a g-"

"We really don't have a choice in the matter, Saya. There's already a few of _them_ inside the gates. We have to clear the area in order to guarantee our safety. Otherwise we might attract more of _them_ to our location to the point that there's another horde, and then we'd have trapped ourselves in an unfavorable position." He then sent the pink haired girl a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll be done with this quickly." If Takashi was aware of the two glares Rei and Saeko shot towards him, then he didn't visibly show it. He especially didn't notice when their scowls deepened when they saw Saya blush slightly, before she ran off to join Shizuka. The whole entire scene was not lost to Naruto, but he decided that now wasn't the perfect time to bring it up.

'_Something is definitely going on with Takashi and those other girls, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it...right after get rid of all of _them.'

**II**

It had been hard work, and there were a few close calls for the fighters, but they had successfully managed to dispose of all of _them_, without drawing any more undead to their location. Once they had finally entered the house, they were greeted with the sight a fairly spacious and inviting living area. By then, dusk had given way to night, and the weary survivors wanted to relax. Almost instantly, the girls claimed dibs on the bathroom, all of them wanting to get a hot bath after everything that had happened. The guys, not wanting to face four cases of righteous female fury for denying their request, decided to get a better layout of their new base in hopes of finding something that could be used to fight _them_. Since they were in an environment with a controlled temperature, Naruto decided that he might as well air out his jacket and shirt in a guest bedroom, both of which were already damp with his sweat. After all, nothing was for certain in this world, and he didn't want end up wearing a shirt drenched in his own body odor if he could help it. As he made his way to the room where Takashi and Kohta said they would be in, he passed by the occupied bathroom the girls were using, and could help but overhear a loud commotion coming from behind the door. His curiosity getting the better to him, the blonde pressed his ear to the door to try and understand what was was going on.

"Eek! What the hell, Sensei!" came Rei's voice.

"What? I just wanted to get a spot that you missed." answered Shizuka. Naruto could practically see the teasing smile on her visage.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, eh?" was the last thing Rei said, before a splash sounded, followed by Shizuka's loud moan.

"Nnng, no! Not there! Please, not there!"

"For crying out loud, Rei! Groping Marikawa-Sensei's breasts isn't going to make yours grow any bigger." came the annoyed voice of Saya.

"Actually, I can sympathize with Rei's dilemma." came Saeko's calm voice.

"What!"

"To tell the truth, I'm actually quite envious of both Marikawa-Sensei and you, Takagi-san. You both have incredible figures that Rei and I can't help but feel jealous of."

"Hey, speak for yourself!"

"Please, no more! You're driving me mad!"

At that moment, more splashes, indignant yelps, and loud sexy sounding moans could be heard behind the door. Naruto, who was now doing a fairly good impression of a ripe tomato, quickly climbed the stairs, and headed towards room Takashi and Kohta were in before he passed out from a major nosebleed. As he neared the door, he could hear the two boys conversing.

"Sure sounds like the girls are having a blast in there." said Takashi. Apparently the commotion was loud enough for them to hear it.

"Yeah, they sure do." Kohta answered wistfully. "You wanna chance a peak?"

Naruto chose that moment to come in. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kohta." The two boys were startled his sudden statement, and were somewhat cowed once they saw Naruto shirtless. Whilst Naruto knew he wasn't built like some sort of body builder, he had assumed that his physically demanding lifestyle made him stand out amongst the guys his age in this world. That, and the few scars on his somewhat sculpted chest, including the one left from Sasuke's Chidori, might have made him somewhat intimidating.

"I once traveled with a man who was proud of being a big pervert. He never wasted a chance to peek on women whenever we visited an onsen, and he would always get caught. The state he was in after the women were finished with him was usually so severe that he was hospitalized for weeks. Now considering that we're living through a B-horror movie plot, and that two of the four girls have martial arts training whilst one is a nurse, do you really think that getting a brief peep would be worth it?"

The two boys took a moment to visualize the worst possible outcome, before they shuddered.

"Sorry, Kohta, but I'd have to agree with Uzumaki-san on this one." Takashi admitted nervously.

"Ugh, can you please not call me by last name? We all fought together for our survival, so I think that we can skip the formalities."

"Uh, I suppose you're right, Naruto-san."

"Fine, we won't go peeping." said Kohta, who was trying to use Takashi's crowbar to open a locked compartment. "But could you two at least give me a hand with this?" Without the word, the two walked to where Kohta was kneeling and grabbed onto the crowbar. "Okay then, on the count of three! One...two...three!"

With a mighty heave, the three boy yanked back on the metal bar as hard as they could, the loud shattering of wood and the sudden loss of resistance rewarding their efforts. The door giving way also resulted in the three guys falling flat on their backs due to their momentum. Kohta was the first to regain his composure, before his eyes began to sparkle and his grin became more...deranged.

"Whoa! Just what kind of friend does Marikawa-Sensei have? I mean, is this even considered normal for a person to have these types of weapons?" Naruto asked Takashi, still awestruck at what he saw.

"No! No normal citizen should have all of this stuff. Just what does this woman do for a living?" Takashi just couldn't pull his eyes away from the contents of the compartment.

"Who the hell cares? They're all ours now!" exclaimed Kohta, before he all but dived into the storage compartment that was filled to the brim with firearms and ammunition, and began to examine each and everyone of them. "A Springfield M1A1 super match! Pity that it's only semi-automatic, though. But that's just fine, the M14 series are fully automatic, and this is less wasteful when it comes to ammunition. And look, a twenty round magazine! These are supposed to be illegal in Japan!"

He then pulled out one weapon after another. "This is awesome, a Knights SR equipped with scope! No, wait! You can't get that type of gun here. So it must be an AR-10 that was heavily modified from the bottom up! And look, an actual crossbow, a descendant of what the legendary Robin Hood used. Oh, and look, a Barnett Wildcat C5; these babies were crafted in Britain and could kill a bear with one shot!"

As the slightly heavy teen continued withdrawing weapons from within the safe, as well as giving a little description of each one, Naruto's unease began to resurface. Not feeling up to hearing Kohta's rundown of weapons that he would most likely never use, he excused himself from the room, and began to walk towards the stairs with no real purpose in mind. Throughout the glasses-wearing teen's presentation, he managed to pick up on names of what he assumed to be countries, such as Japan, Britain, and Vietnam; all them being countries he had never heard of nor had any clue as to where they were. After seeing the sorts of weapons this world used, and how the people here were so dependent on using them to fight their wars and defend themselves, Naruto couldn't help but feel utterly lost. He truly was in some sort of alternate world than the one he grew up in. And the scary part was that he didn't know if there was anyway the he could return home. What was even worse was that he couldn't use his ninjutsu in front of the group without coming off as some sort of freak, so he was at an alarming disadvantage whenever he was forced to fight against _them_.

And that just brought up another problem that genuinely troubled him: the vast amounts of zombies that used to be live people. Despite his career as a shinobi his records still showed that he had only killed once, and that was when he was battling the Akatsuki's spy Yura, disguised as Itachi. He didn't count Nagato's Six Paths since they were just corpses controlled by chakra, nor the armies of white Zetsu clones since they were just copies of a person created through the use of the First Hokage's DNA. And he definitely did **_not _**consider Madara Uchiha to be human, not after all of the atrocities that he committed. In one day, he had killed more people than he ever did in his entire tenure as a shinobi. Sure, they were basically dead corpses brought back to a life-like state and driven by some unexplained hunger for the flesh of the living, but they had to have been normal people at some point in time. Just the thought of him killing all of those people, who once had individual minds and dreams of their own, just made him feel sick to his stomach. But he didn't dare show his discomfort in front of the others, not wanting to break the morale amongst the party. He needed to appear strong and optimistic to the others, despite his own doubts, or else everyone would lose the will to fight for their survival. After all, he had spent the majority of his life hiding behind a false mask, so he figured that he could weather out this catastrophe without too much trouble.

He was once again so caught up in his thoughts, that he didn't notice the person that was in front of him, until it was too late. He was immediately brought back to reality when he felt his face collide against something large and soft. But what really got him alert was the gasp and deep feminine moan that followed.

"Oh my! I never took you as the type of person to be so forward with your feelings,_ Naruto-kun_." was the soft, melodious reply of none other than Shizuka Marikawa.

Instantly, the blushing ninja leaped back in order to separate themselves from each other, and to immediately apologize for his actions. His time with Sakura had left him somewhat anxious when interacting with women, and had developed a habit of expecting a violent outburst at any given moment. But any apology he was going to say died in his mouth as got a full look at the blonde nurse before him. She was still dripping wet, with her damp blonde hair framing her lovely, blushing face. She was also only clad in a white towel that obscured her most intimate areas, and yet left nothing to imagination as it heavily accentuated her magnificent figure.

"Uh,...M-Marikawa-san, you're...k-kinda...nude..." was the only intelligent thing he had to say, his blush darkening considerably.

Whether the woman had heard him or not wasn't clear, as she showed no visible response that she understood that she was still technically naked in front of a teenage boy. Instead, she crept closer towards Naruto, her delicate fingers gliding around his chest.

"My, my, I would have never guessed that you looked like this underneath that jacket of yours. You sure are quite muscular for someone your age." she said mirthfully, her half-lidded eyes taking in everything that her fingers touched with a hungry expression. She gasped, however, once she finally noticed the scar on his right side. "How did this happen? This injury would have destroyed your right lung, and the scar looks as if it's barely five years old!"

Naruto looked uneasy, as the scar and the person who gave it to him were still touchy subjects for him. "I didn't have any parents when I was growing up, so I had to start working when I was younger in order to provide for myself. It's just an injury that I got from my job. It was dangerous, but it paid well, and I didn't really have much options to fall back on either." he half-lied.

"But to have started working at such a young age when you should have been enjoying your childhood, and to have endured such dangerous injuries, you must have had to grow up faster than any of the other teens here." She suddenly leaned in closer to him, her bountiful bosom pressing up against his bare chest as she gave his ear a slow tantalizing lick. "That really gets me burning hot, _Na-ru-to-kun_." she said sensually, her breathing becoming heavy pants, and he could feel her hot breath beating against his ear lobe.

Naruto's face sported a Hinata-esque blush, as he tried to get his mind to think straight. Despite his shinobi training, he was still a teenage boy raging with hormones and urges he hadn't experienced when he was younger. And having a stunningly beautiful woman like Shizuka, still wet from her bath and clad in nothing but a towel, pressing herself against him didn't really help him in keeping a level head. In fact, he could practically hear Jiraiya's voice in his head, encouraging him to go for it and yammering how he had made an old super pervert proud. But then he noticed the alcohol in her breath, and his damnable chivalrous nature came in to take over.

"Marikawa-san, you've been drinking, haven't you?" he asked as he gently eased the woman away from him, despite his inner pervert protesting against it. "How about we just find you a comfy place for you to sleep all of this off, eh?"

"No, no, no!" Shizuka protested rather loudly, shaking her head back and forth childishly. "I don't _want_ to sleep Naru-kun! I want to play!"

"Shhh! Marikawa-san, don't shout like that! We can't risk attracting _them_ to our position so you need talk in a quieter tone." Naruto urged, softly.

"No! It's too quiet and scary around here! I want to be this loud so that I won't scare myself!" argued the nurse, as she pouted at him, making him think he was talking to some child instead of an adult. And then, without warning, she passed out from the alcohol and the stress from today's events. She was about to topple forward when Naruto managed to catch her, which inadvertently resulted in her towel-clad form pressing against him once again. This was the scene that Takashi and Kohta walked in on. The gun expert just took one glance at the two blondes before he was blown back by a powerful nosebleed. Takashi was fairing somewhat better than his friend, but not by much.

"Uh,...Naruto-san, what a-"

"It's not what you think, Takashi, so don't even start right now. Marikawa-san just had a little too much to drink, and she passed out. I'm gonna take her back to the guest bedroom so that she can sleep this off, okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah, sure thing." stuttered the brunette, before he tried to rouse Kohta from what ever daydream he was having.

Meanwhile, Naruto carefully moved Shizuka behind him before he hoisted her up in a piggy back position, making sure that his hands didn't touch something that they shouldn't. His blush seemed to return as he felt her breasts being pressed against him through the damp towel. He was also quite surprised to notice that she seemed lighter than what he had expected. Shaking those thoughts from his head, he cautiously made his way down the hallway with his passenger riding on his back, oblivious to her surroundings as she slept. He had just made it half way done the stairs when Shizuka suddenly awoke with a start, nearly causing her to nearly fall off. Fortunately, Naruto was able to readjust his grip and keep her from falling, but in doing so his hands traveled further back.

"_Kyaaah~_! You're touching my butt, Naruto-kun!" squealed Shizuka, before she leaned in closer towards him, her finger seductively gliding along the top of his ear, involuntarily sending a shudder down his spine. "_That's sooo naughty. _ I bet you're enjoying every second of this, aren't ya?"

"W-w-well, I'd be lying if I said that I was hating this." said Naruto, sheepishly.

"And what exactly do we have here, huh?" came a new irritated-sounding voice. Turning about face, he was greeted with the sight of Rei Miyamoto, dressed in a small pink tank top with matching pink panties. Despite her agitated expression, she had a small blush stretched across her cheeks at seeing how much skin the two blondes were showing.

"So, what's going here?" Rei asked again.

"Hey, Rei-chan! Looks I beat ya to it! I've already got me a man! You'd better step up your game, or else Saeko-chan or Saya-chan might whisk Takashi away when you least expect it!" exclaimed Shizuka in between giggles. Her comment only served to make the two teens blush even harder at what she was insinuating.

"As you can see, Rei, Marikawa-san's been hitting the bottle a bit too much, and I was just taking her some place to sleep the alcohol off."

"Right. You go on ahead. I've...got a few things to do anyways."

And with that, the two teens went their separate ways, neither of them looking back. Without any further interruption, Naruto managed to get to the bedroom where he left his swords and clothes, and gentle lowered Shizuka onto the bed.

"Thanks for getting me into bed, Naru-kun." she said, as Naruto draped the covers over her body. "HA! _Get me into bed_, that sounds so dirty once you think about it."

"Y-you don't say." He could not believe half of the things this woman said whilst she was drunk. But then again, alcohol was known as an inhibitor-reducer. "Well, pleasant dreams, Marikawa-san." He made to leave the room, when the woman quickly grabbed a hold of his wrist, despite her drunken state. The woman was just full of surprises.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't leave just yet, my hero!" she said, playfully.

"H-h-hero?"

"Yes, my hero! The way you crashed through that window to save me from all those zombies, or how you came to my defense when that bastard Shido tried to have his way with me, only a real hero would go to such lengths to help someone."

Naruto was caught off guard at how she seemed to genuinely mean what she said. "It was nothing. Any decent person would have done the same."

"Then I guess there aren't many decent men out there, since you're the first guy that's ever been this protective over little old me. Oh _**why**_ aren't there more men like you?" she wailed dramatically.

"I guess you could say that I'm one of a kind?" Naruto suggested, a large sweat drop sliding down the back of his head. "So, is there anything else I can do for you, Marikawa-san?"

"Yes, there is actually." she said with certainty. "Could you be so kind as to stay with me for a while?"

"W-w-what?"

"Well, with everything that's happened, I just don't feel safe right now. I'd sleep much more easily if I had my hero by my side."

"B-b-b-but, but, Marikawa-san, that wo-"

"Please, Naruto-kun?" She gazed at him with her eyes shining brightly in the moonlight, and her lower lip trembling. Naruto stood no chance.

"Oh, alright. If it'll put you with ease." he said, finally admitting defeat to her "begging puppy dog" look. Without warning, Naruto felt himself being pulled onto the bed, before the nurse captured him in a firm embrace, and promptly fell asleep. He tried to loosen her grip on him, but that only encouraged her to strengthen her hold. Figuring that any further attempts would be pointless, he relented and allowed Shizuka to cuddle against him as if he were some sort of large teddy bear.

'_She's quite the eccentric person. But I wonder if she's normally like this or it's the alcohol affecting her behavior._' thought the blonde shinobi, as he gazed at the sleeping beauty beside him. Somehow, just being with her seemed to put his mind at ease. Seeing how peaceful she looked as she slept, he decided that he could put off worrying about getting back home for while. Soon, he too found himself becoming drowsier and drowsier by the passing second, and eventually allowed himself to fall asleep in Shizuka's arms.

**END OF PART 2 **

**AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I had originally intended this update to be posted on Christmas, but I was entertaining family on that day. I was actually surprised to getting some many reviews after the first update of this story. Anyways, enjoy! And don't forget to READ and REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Love Amongst Survivors**

**Yo! I'm back, again! Same as always, I own nada! **

**Part 3 **

**III**

_**Last time on Love Amongst Survivors**_

"_Please, Naruto-kun?" She stared with her eyes shining brightly in the moonlight, and her lower lip trembling. Naruto stood no chance. _

"_Oh, alright. If it'll put you with ease." he said, finally admitting defeat to her "begging puppy dog" look. Without warning, Naruto felt himself being pulled onto the bed, before the nurse captured him in a firm embrace, and then promptly fell to sleep. He tried to loosen her grip on him, but that only seemed to encouraged her to strengthen her hold. Figuring that any further attempts would be pointless, he relented and allowed Shizuka to cuddle against him as if he were some sort of large stuffed animal._

'She's quite the eccentric person. But I wonder if she's normally like this or it's the alcohol affecting her behavior.'_ thought the blonde shinobi, who decided to put off worrying about finding a way back home for while. Soon, he found himself becoming drowsier and drowsier by the second, before he finally allowed himself to fall asleep in Shizuka's arms. _

_Flashback end _

**Story Start:**

**III**

_Flashback Start_

He had always hated it whenever it happened. The Kyubi-no-Kitsune always seemedto know the most inopportune to call upon its host for a private conversation, face to face. The last thing he remembered was dozing off in Shizuka's soft embrace, the aroma of her tropical floral shampoo wafting by his nose. Yet, without any warning, he found himself standing in front of the mightiest of the bijū.Sure, the fox wasn't as energetic as it was three years ago, but it was still a frightening sight to be suddenly thrust into your face. It was because of this reason, as well as their past interactions during the war, that Naruto didn't use his normally loud and obnoxious way of greeting the sleeping demon before him. Instead, he chose to go with a more quieter approach. Naruto crept closer to the gate, the fox's ears twitched in response to the sound of the water being displaced with each footstep. One of its large red eyes opened slowly, revealing a slit pupil that lazily peered at the sudden disturbance. Seeing that it was none other than his host, the fox fully awoke from his slumber.

"**Oh, it's **_**you**_**, again. And just what do you want, now?**" growled the fox, as his deep voice seemed to echo throughout the the room.

"You tell me. I haven't heard a peep out of you since the battle against Madara. I thought you would've spoken up sooner once I regained conscious." stated Naruto. If he were still twelve, he would've literally exploded at the fox's grandeur attitude. But over time, he had learned to take it with a grain of salt.

The fox just snorted indifferently. "**Hmph! Even beings such as I need to rest every now and then. Besides, it's too tiring to try and keep up with every little clusterfuck that you get yourself into.**"

"Hey! What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?" He had worked on reigning in his temper, and thought that he had made a lot of progress, but damn it, the fox knew how to push his buttons.

His sudden lapse only seemed to anger the fox. "**Are you truly this dense? YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT ROYALY SCREWING US OVER!**" The roar sent water flying back, as Naruto's hair whipped about wildly from the sudden burst of wind. "**Every mission you take, every task you try to complete, you just end up making things a hundred times harder than before! If you're assigned a simple escort mission, you end fighting for some oppressed people that you're never going to see again! And when you **_**finally**_** rid our world of that **_**damned**_** Uchiha, we end up stuck on some Kami-forsaken world that's already close to dying off completely!**"

"Oi! Screw you, you nine-tailed asshole! I can't help that trouble always seems to find me! It's not like I actively go searching for conflict. And don't you dare blame our current predicament on me! I had no idea that Madara's death would have created a space-time portal of that magnitude to appear! _You_ out of all sentient beings should know how dangerous that man is! And besides, none of this would have happened in the first place if _you_ had just killed that prick the very first time you came across him!"

The fox growled at the mere mention of Madara, the one human that he utterly despised above all others. He always hated how easily that man had taken control over him with those thrice damned eyes. But at least now he could be happy in the fact that the cretin no longer existed, yet it was the end result for his host and himself that really bothered him. Naruto said nothing to break the awkward silence. He knew that his last jibe was pretty low of him, but he was already stressed out beyond belief with his current situation. Yet, the fox had always used his power to help him whenever he was in trouble, and didn't deserve to have his past thrown in his face like that.

"Look, Kurama, I,..." Naruto tired to say, before he sighed tiredly, "I'm sorry for throwing your past with Madara in your face. I shouldn't have acted so rashly like that, especially after everything that we've been through together. I'm just stressed with everything that's going around me, and I took my frustrations out on you. You deserved to be treated better, and I'm sorry."

The great fox just stared at the blonde for a moment, as if his host had grown another head, before he gave off a snort that he tried to make sound indignant. "**Heh! Well, **_**that**_** was damn decent of you.**" he growled, yet a smirk could be seen stretched across his muzzle. Another awkward silence settled in, before Naruto spoke again.

"You know, this the part where you apologize for your own harsh words, right?"

"**I know.**" Kurama's smirk never left his visage. Yet despite the great fox's supposedly callous attitude, he knew that was just how his tenant is.

"So, what did you mean by that this world is dying off?" asked Naruto, trying to move the conversation along.

"**It's just as I said, this world is **_**literally**_** dying off! From what I've gathered during our short time here, the atmosphere is permeated with a deadly virus that's striking down almost the entire human population.**"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up at that statement. "You mean a virus _is _the cause of all this crap?"

"**Of course it is, I can smell its rancid stench everywhere. Yet it is not like any virus that I've ever encountered in my entire existence, at least, any type that 's naturally occurring. I'd wager that this whole nightmare is the result of a biological weapons experiment, that you humans love to toil in, going horribly wrong because of some simpleton screwing up. Honestly, I've never seen a species that's so determined to quicken their own stride towards extinction. You claim that you want to live peacefully with each other and protect the environment, yet you're all thinking of newer ways on how to kill each other and destroy your own habitat for monetary gain! You hairless apes are living contradictions to yourselves!**" the fox bellowed with laughter, finding the behavior of the "highly evolved" species hilarious. Naruto remained stony faced, and calmly waited until Kurama finally got tired of laughing. He didn't have to wait long, for as soon as the giant fox noticed his host's deadpanned expression, the laughter slowly and awkwardly died down, leaving a somewhat embarrassed bijū.

"**Er,...right. Anyways, as I said, this virus doesn't show any characteristics of any virus that already exists in nature, which rules out the possibility that these undead were created by some sort of mutagenic variation that's naturally occurring in this world. And since I do not sense any trace of yokai, the only feasible explanation for the origin of this virus is that it is synthetic in nature. Despite the fact that it has spread all throughout this world's atmosphere, it appears that it only targets humans, and has a high susceptibility rate. But what's the most alarming part of this artificial plague is how easily it's transferred from victim to victim. If by some chance that a human isn't infected by the airborne strain, then they can still easily contract it from something as simple as a bite or scratch from an infected. Of course, this is a **_**normal **_**human being that we're talking about.**"

"Are you saying that because I'm from a different world, that I'm immune to the virus?"

"**Well, with the blood of the Uzumaki clan coursing through your veins, and with me super-charging your immune system, I have no doubt that you won't be infected by the airborne virus strain anytime soon. But all the same, I'd advise you to do everything that you can to make sure that an infected never bites you, as I'm unsure of how the virus would behave once its viral agents ****are introduced into your body. If by some chance that you're bitten, I'm about eighty-five percent sure that your immune system can take care of it. But like I said, I'm not too keen on finding out the hard way.**"

Naruto had to agree with the bijū, it would probably be best that he never attempt to discover the limits of his healing factor on his own. Being a decaying undead was not something on his _to-do_ list. But thinking over everything that he had encountered, he couldn't help but ask what had been bothering him the entire time. "What about the group that I've been traveling with? Is there some way that this virus can infect a person, but not kill them immediately, like some sort of a delayed effect?"

"**Hmph! If those meatbags were carriers of this abomination,** **don't you think that I would have told you from the moment you joined their little party? To answer your question, no, I do not smell the stench of that disgusting filth on their person. If I did, I would have immediately told you to put them out of their misery.**"

"I...see. But back to the zombie matter, how is it that this virus is creating all of these zombies? Isn't that supposed to be physically impossible for the _living dead_ to even exist?"

Naruto noticed Kurama shift a bit, as if he were unconformable talking about the topic. That little action alone sent warning bells off in his mind. "**Normally, yes, these **_**things**_** wouldn't exist at all. But then again, there's always seems to be **_**something **_**unnatural causing shit like this to happen anyways. Except compared to your Nidamie Hokage's accursed Edo Tensei jutsu, this virus is a hundred times worse. It literally attacks everything inside the human body: muscles, nerve endings, organs, everything! And the rate at which the viral agents decimates the human body is astronomical to the point that the infected victim would be dead in a matter of seconds. Yet despite all of the damage that's done to the body, the brain, nervous system, and eardrums somehow remain intact, albeit in a severely damaged state. I'd reckon that would probably explain why the infected are driven by an intense hunger for flesh, despite the fact that their digestive system no longer functions. The fact that they're able to move about, even with rigor mortis affecting their entire body, is a wonder in itself. Whether or not their speed will increase once their legs begin to decay, therefore somewhat negating the stiffness caused by rigor mortis, still remains a mystery to me.**"

"That's just what we need now, running zombies." deadpanned Naruto.

"**But that's not the worst part, I'm afraid.**" Naruto looked up at the fox, disbelief written on his face. "W**hile normal infectious plagues do kill thousands, maybe even millions of people, they would eventually die out after an extended period of time. But since we're dealing with a synthetic virus, I have a feeling that this abomination won't die off on its own, and that the scientists here will have to construct an antidote on their own to counteract it. But if the rest of this planet is like what we've seen today, I fear that it'll only be a matter of time before you and your group are overrun with the undead.**"

"Yeah, well, that might happen if we stick to just using the conventional weapons of this world. If push comes to shove, then I'll just have to take things up a notch, ninja style!" declared Naruto, regaining some his old enthusiasm from his early years of his ninja career. Yet, it was quickly blown away when he saw Kurama flinch as if he were a regular fox caught trying to steal a farmer's chicken. "What? What is it?"

Kurama hesitated for a moment, before he gave a tired sigh. "**Unfortunately, whilst you **_**are**_** immune to succumbing to the airborne strain, that doesn't mean that the virus is having no effect on you. The fact that this artificial garbage is floating all over the atmosphere is hampering your ability ****to regain your chakra while you're resting. Worse still, anytime that you use chakra, you end up putting a harmful strain on your body.**"

Naruto was about tovoice his disbelief on that particular claim, when he recalled that small sharp pain that shot through his body whenever he used wind manipulation techniques, and how he seemed more worn out than usual after he had used chakra to scale the school's wall. Kurama noticed that his host had finally remembered the specific moment that he was talking about.

"**Even though you didn't use a large quantity of chakra whilst you were fighting, you **_**still**_** felt some sort of discomfort, correct?**" At seeing Naruto nod his head, the fox continued. "**It seems that this virus acts as some sort of resistance on your body whenever you use chakra. It's actually similar to blood trying to pass through a clogged artery, and is just as painful as well, depending on the amount of chakra you use. For example, if you were engage the undead using your old strategy of spamming the battlefield with shadow clones, your body would go into shock the moment you dispel them. And the strain will be even worse whenever you use more advanced techniques, such as your wind manipulation and Rasengan variations.**"

"Then what about my Sage Mode, or using your chakra? Are those basically off limits now?"

The fox became silent for a moment, before he answered him. "**Since the virus doesn't seem to affect the flora and fauna on this world, as far as we know at least, you should **_**theoretically**_** be able to use nature chakra. But, since you are still a human being, and this virus only affects your species, I would surmise that the time that you're able to use senjutsu would be reduced by half if you refrain from using your more destructive Rasengan techniques. As for using my chakra, as well as our jinchuriki form, I'd recommend that we limit ourselves to about five minutes of usage, just to be on the safe side since we don't know how my chakra will behave in this world. But all the same, you'll need to be more careful with how much chakra you use, not only because your body currently can't withstand using the amount you usually use, but because you're recovering chakra at a much slower rate.**" At seeing the blonde's shocked expression, Kurama couldn't help but sigh; this explanation just seemed to go on and on. He was still dead tired, and all of this talking was seriously cutting into his sleep time. "**In normal conditions, you would be able to recover about half of the chakra that you used whenever you're recuperating, since your stamina is above average compared to a regular shinobi. But when you were resting for that short amount of time on that thing you call a **_**bus**_**, you barely recovered a **_**fourth**_** of the chakra that you used cutting down those undead. And back when you first awakened from unconsciousness, your reserves had only recovered about forty-five percent of your chakra, when normally it would've been at least seventy percent. Your abilities to use and regain chakra might vary if you were to travel to an area where this synthetic crap isn't as concentrated as this area, but considering that there are currently more cons than pros for using ninjutsu, I really don't see any advantage to using your techniques unless there are no other options available. That being said, you need to understand that you're under quite a severe handicap, Naruto. And considering that that there are millions and millions of **_**them**_** wandering about, I don't think that there's any way that you our your new buddies can live long enough to see an antidote be administered to this world.**"

"Yes, we will!" said Naruto, his tone dead serious. "All of us _will_ make it through this nightmare, I'll make sure of it."

"**Even if it means killing thousands upon thousands of what used to be living human beings? I know how much that you detest killing, Naruto, even after your battle against Nagato's Six Paths ****of Pain, and the Zetsu clone army, let alone that vile abomination, Madara Uchiha. The fact that they weren't exactly **_**alive **_**or **_**human **_**may have helped you steel your resolve long enough for you to do the deed, but we're dealing with the recently deceased that have been reanimated through unnatural ways; humans that have been dead for barely a day. On top of that, you will have to ignore some people in danger, especially if they get bitten by **_**them; **_**there are just some people that you can't save.**"

"Don't you think that I already know that? I _know_ that these things used to be living humans, but we don't have the luxury of just simply running away whenever we encounter _them_. If given the choice of killing a former human just to see tomorrow or simply doing nothing and letting _it_ eat me, then you know that I'd choose the first option. The survival of our group is more important than sticking to my morals. I will do everything in my power to make sure that all of us survive long enough for a cure to be developed, no matter how many of _them_ I have to kill."

Kurama stared at his host for a brief moment, as if he were watching some sort of television dramaunfold before him. "**Hmph! Well, isn't this a surprise? You used to be so adamant about taking someone else's life, especially when you were younger. Yet, here you are, declaring that you have no qualms to the slaughter of countless people, their current state of liveliness aside. But then again, that's not the **_**only**_** thing that's changed about you.**"

"Say what now?" Naruto's unease grew as he saw the great demon smirk down at him as if he were a cornered, fat chicken.

"**Oh, don't go and act innocent on me now. I'm on to your little scheme. What would that violent pink-haired medic, or that Hyuga heiress say if they saw you now? Who knew that you were **_**that**_** type of guy.**"

"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, now getting irritated. Kurama just chuckled at the boy's expense.

"**Oh, where do I begin? You're sleeping half-naked, in the arms of a woman who is completely nude, all the while sharing the same bed with said woman, who you've known for barely an entire day! Tell me, Naruto, do you prefer older women? Or has that perverted toad sage's preference for blonde female medics with big breasts finally rubbed off on you, hm?**" Kurama asked, finishing with a leer. The reaction was instantaneous, as Naruto's face lit up with a bright red blush, and he attempted to stammer out a believable counter argument.

"Sh-sh-shut up, you...you perverted fox! Stop taking things out of context!" was the only thing that Naruto could say coherently.

"**Hehhehheh...HAHAHAHAHA!** **Don't deny that you're enjoying every moment of your little cuddle session with her! If you were so against it, you would have escaped her clutches by now! But then again, I can see why you're trying to make this moment last as long as possible. This is by far the most enjoyable experience of physical contact that you've had in your life, especially considering the more **_**unpleasant **_**experiences you went through, like your **_**first kiss **_**for instance.**"

"OI! How many times do I have to tell you to stop bring that horrible moment up? That kiss did _**NOT **_count! I _never _meant to kiss that teme, some punk-ass chump knocked me off balance. And when I finally find that bastard, I'm gonna beat the living shit out of him!" the blonde ranted. It _still _irked him how easily everyone seemed to recall that embarrassing incident with ease.

Kurama just chuckled; it always amused him how easily his host lost his cool whenever that particular memory was brought up. "**By the way, I'd suggest that you wake up now. The pinkette with the better developed feminine figure is standing awfully close to you right now.**" said the fox, right before their connection was nearly cut off.

"Oh, okay, thanks for th-wait, WHAT?"

**III**

Naruto's blue eyes snapped open to see Saya Takagi invading his personal space, with her hand outstretched towards his cheek. His gaze zeroed in on her bespectacled face, trying to gain an idea as to what her intentions were, but was disappointed that he couldn't garner anything from her expressionless face.

"Um, Takagi-san, what are you doing?" whispered Naruto so as not to wake up the other blonde.

Saya merely blinked, her stony facade never breaking for an instant. "There was a fly on your cheek. I was about to swat it off, but it flew away at the last moment."

"Oh...okay. Uh, thanks, I guess. But, what exactly are you doing in here?"

That seemed to have been the wrong thing to say, as the young genius shot Naruto a hard glare. "For your information, everyone was worried when you and Shizuka-Sensei disappeared without telling anyone where you'd be. I decided to go look for the both of you, and I find you two sleeping like logs. Which brings me to my next question: why are you sleeping with Sensei?"

The young shinobi felt a familiar sense of fear swelling in his heart, the fear that was specifically reserved for dealing with an angry Tsunade or Sakura. The type of fear where he knew that one little mistake was all that it took for him to enter a world of hurt.

"Well, I was just helping Marikawa-san to this guest room so that she could sleep off whatever alcoholic beverage she drank. I _was_ just going to let her sleep on her own, but she asked me stay with her for a while, saying that she didn't feel comfortable sleeping by herself." explained Naruto, who was figuratively treading through a mine field.

"Oh, really? Then could you please explain to me why keeping Sensei company would entail you to _share a bed_ with her?" Saya's eyes took on a frosty expression, almost the same way Sakura's did before she started beating him senseless.

"Well, the moment I said 'yes', she practically yanked me down onto the bed with her and used me as an oversized teddy bear. And since I couldn't really get out of her grasp without upsetting or waking her up, I thought it would be best to wait until her grip loosened up in her sleep. I guess fatigue finally caught up with me, and I sort of dozed off, which was when you popped up."

"I...see." was the curt reply that he got back, whilst Saya silently processed what she had learned. From what she had seen from the older woman, she knew that the nurse had a tendency to act a lot younger than her actual age from time to time, almost as if she were a teenage girl again. Add in the fact that alcohol made people do stupid things if they drank too much, and it wasn't such an improbable concept that Ms. Shizuka would behave in the manner that Naruto had described. Naruto, on the other hand, was deathly silent as he watched another potential human grim reaper stand before him, all the while preparing for her to finally strike. As he looked for all possible escape routes in case things took a turn for the worse, he noticed that Shizuka's arms weren't as tightly wound around him as they were earlier. Even though a part of him wanted to stay in the beautiful woman's embrace, his sense of self-preservation eventually won over his desires. With great care, the whiskered ninja slowly slipped out of Shizuka's grip, earning a disheartened moan from the nurse at the loss of her human teddy bear. Deciding that it would probably be best if he left the older woman to sleep on her own, he went to the chair where he had placed his jacket, undershirt, and his weapons. But as he got to the chair, all he saw were his swords resting against the furniture's leg, right where he left them.

"Hey, Takagi-san, do you know what happened to my shirt and jacket?" he asked, but received no reply from the girl. He turned to face her again and saw that her eyes looking directly at him, but seemed glazed over for some reason. "Takagi-san?"

His louder tone broke the girl from her inner musings, only for her to direct a heated glared at the blonde. If Naruto didn't know any better, he could have sworn that there was a small blush adorning her cheeks.

"W-What? What is it this time?" she asked, hotly.

"I said, _do you know what happened to my shirt and jacket_? I draped them on this chair before I went to sleep, and now they're missing."

"Busujima-san might have taken them. I saw her preparing a load of laundry for the washing machine a little while ago." For some reason, Saya was determined to keep her eyes from looking directly at him.

'_Busu-I mean Saeko did that for me? Huh, that was nice of her._' thought Naruto as he strapped the swords on his back once again. He didn't know _why_ he did so, especially since they were in a protected shelter, but he somehow felt a bit more at ease by having them with him. As he turned to leave the room, he managed to catch Saya trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"You look as if you're about collapse from exhaustion any second now, Takagi-san. Maybe you should take a little nap, while everything's quiet. You can use the bed, that way you won't be uncomfortable sleeping on some chair, and Marikawa-san won't be lonely." suggested Naruto, as he walked out of the room, missing the glare that Saya sent him.

The pink-haired genius merely scoffed at the blonde's last comment, thinking that he was just acting like all the other perverted boys back at the academy. The fact that she first came across the boy sleeping in Shizuka-Sensei's arms just cemented the idea that the dual sword-wielding blonde was a lecher. She was about to call him out on his shamelessness, but for some absurd reason she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Something about watching how the two blondes slept so peacefully seemed to exude an aura of serenity and calm around the room, making her hesitant on breaking up such moment. His whisker marks reminding her of a sleeping fox just added to the cuteness of the scene. It was the same strange birth marks that had drawn her to almost touching the sleeping teen's cheek, just to find out if they would feel like real whiskers. But right when her fingers were about to land on his skin, the boy had decided to wake up. To think that she was nearly caught in such an embarrassing situation, and that she had been gawking at Uzumaki's bare chest, made her feel extremely foolish for behaving like some ditzy, boy-crazy girl that made up almost all of her fellow female classmates.

As another yawn broke through her self restraint, she felt her drowsiness steadily getting stronger. She eyed the now vacant spot of the double bed, her body's urges for sleep increasing, yet the boy's last words still rung in her mind which still sounded like some sort of perverted fantasy that a hot-blooded teenage boy would think of. On the other hand, the bed just looked so comfortable; why bother sleeping on an uncomfortable chair when there was a bed right in front of her? In the end, her need for sleep outweighed her apprehensions, and she decided just to rest for a couple of minutes so that no one would walk in on her in such an embarrassing situation. With great care, the pinkette slowly crept towards the bed and the woman sleeping on it. But she was in for a surprise, for the moment that she eased herself down on the mattress, Shizuka's arms shot out like striking cobras, wrapping around her waist and quickly drew the girl into a tight embrace. Saya tried to free herself from the older woman's bear hug, but it was all for naught.

"_Maah~, _you've really got to stop gorging on junk food, Naruto-kun. You've gotten too pudgy and squishy, now." Shizuka muttered in her sleep.

'_What the hell? This Naruto person's only been with us for barely a day, and already Sensei is dreaming about him! Did something happen between those two whilst they were alone, or did she really drink an entire ca-wait a minute. Pudgy? _PUDGY! _I'm sure as hell __**not **__pudgy!_' Saya renewed her efforts to break free from the nurse's grip, but it might as well have been like trying to get out of a boa constrictor's grasp. Finally realizing how futile her efforts were, Saya ceased struggling and allowed herself to relax. As sleep slowly claimed her, she couldn't help but take notice of one last thing. _'His spot's still warm._'

**III**

Naruto had barely gotten twenty steps away from the bedroom before he nearly ran into Takashi. Said brunette clearly had something on his mind, as he didn't see the approaching blonde until it was nearly too late.

"Ah, Naruto-san, there you are. Sorry for almost hitting you, I guess I was too caught up in my thoughts." said Takashi, as he scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

"Eh, don't worry about it, Takashi." answered Naruto. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well, Saya went off to look for you and Shizuka-Sensei, but she hasn't returned yet. Have you seen her by any chance?"

"Actually, yeah I have. I, uh, sort of fell asleep when I put Marikawa-san to bed when she found us. She seemed kind of mad at me for some reason. I mean, I wasn't out of it for too long, was I?"

"Only for about thirty minutes or so." answered Takashi. "I apologize if Saya came off as a bit confrontational, but that's just how she copes with stressful situations. She's actually a great person once you get to know her."

"I...see." said Naruto, unsure about Saya actually being capable of showing kindness based on his first impression of her. "Well, I can show you where she is, if you want." Takashi merely nodded before he followed the ninja back into the room that he had just moments ago walked out of. But the sight that awaited the high school student was one his hormonal teenage brain wasn't expecting. There on the bed were the sleeping forms of Shizuka Marikawa, clad in only a towel, cuddling with Saya. Seeing two beautiful young women in such an appealing position had the teenager's face burn a deep crimson.

Naruto, on the other hand, was handling the scene a a bit better than Takashi, despite the light blush that stretched across his cheeks. '_Looks like Saya was __**really**__ tired after all, maybe that's was why she was so crabby. But, damn it all, she took my spot!_' thought Naruto. Glancing to his right, he saw Takashi's gobsmacked expression out of the corner of his eye, and just sighed at how easily flustered he was. Who knew that his time with Jiraiya would have made him more resistant to such erotic situations? Without a word, Naruto walked into the small closet that was in front of the bed, and returned with a white down feather comforter which he spread over the two sleeping females, covering them from the neck down. Now that the sensual sight was obstructed, Takashi was able to regain his wits and get his blush back under control.

"Come on, let's give them some peace and quiet." whispered Naruto, as he gestured to the open doorway with a quick jerk of his head. Takashi merely agreed with a nod, mentally thanking Naruto for maintaining some level of modesty amongst the house. As they made their way to the kitchenette, the two made small talk about what they had encountered before reuniting at the bridge, the possible cause for the outbreak, and what should be their next plan of action. As they turned a corner, Takashi stopped abruptly, causing Naruto to bump into him. He was about to ask the student what was the matter, when he saw from over the boy's shoulder Rei Miyamoto standing in the middle of the hallway. She was still clad in the pink tank top and panties when Naruto had last seen her, but something seemed a little bit off about her this time around.

"Rei? What's the matter?" asked Takashi. Said girl just swayed slightly from side to side, as if she were a tree being battered by a strong wind. Her eyes were unfocused, and her cheeks were colored a bright pink. When Rei finally noticed that she was no longer alone in the hall way, she stared at the two boys for a moment, before dissolving into a giggling fit.

"Hehehehehe! And now Takashi makesh three!" declared the girl, a slight slur to her voice. It became quite clear to what was ailing the girl.

'_Looks like Rei has found whatever Marikawa-san was drinking._', deadpanned Naruto. Takashi, however, looked aghast as the scent of alcohol reached his nostrils.

"Rei! Don't tell me that you've been drinking!" At the sound of the boy's reprimand, Rei's attitude shifted to that of a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and even began to drag her foot across the floor as if she were drawing.

"We-We-Well, I jush thought that, since the world ish gonna end, wh-wh-why not enjoy things while they last? After all, sh-sho much has happened today...a-a-and Hisashi's dead, too." answered Rei, mournfully. Takashi's eyes narrowed at the mention of that particular name, as he abruptly walked past the girl and up the stairs to the kitchenette without saying another word. Naruto was surprised to see Takashi act so coldly to her, and neither did Rei if her surprised expression was anything to go by. He wanted know what had happened between the two of them to warrant such a harsh reaction from the boy, but figured that it was a personal matter. Instead he followed after Takashi, giving Rei a small smile as he passed her, only to bump into Takashi once again at the doorway leading into the kitchenette's interior.

"Oh, come on, man! What is this ti-" Naruto's voice got caught in his throat as he saw what the teen in front of him was staring at. There, working diligently over the oven, was Saeko Busujima, clad in only an apron and a lacy black thong. Although Naruto wasn't as easily flustered with erotic scenarios as he used to, he couldn't stop himself from blushing at having such a sexy scene literally thrust in his face for a third time in a row. Saeko remained oblivious to the two sets of eyes that were locked onto her as she put the finishing touches on the food that she was preparing. Turning off the stove for a moment to add a few more ingredients, she noticed from the corner of her eye that she was no longer alone.

"Ah! Komuro-san, Uzumaki-san, I didn't see you two there. I was just busy preparing lunches for tomorrow, but dinner should ready in just a few minutes." said Saeko, brightly. As she turned to face them, she was able to get a better look at the two teenage boys that stood before her. Upon seeing how Takashi's t-shirt seemed to hug his slightly-built frame, and Naruto's lean muscular chest was out for everyone to see, the kendoka was blushing up a storm.

Takashi was the first to break out of his stupor. "W-wow, that's very thoughtful of you, Busujima-san. Isn't that right, Naruto-san?" Takashi made sure to give the ninja a quick elbow strike to the side. It managed to bring the other boy back to his senses and offer his own confirmation, although he was thoroughly embarrassed of acting so foolishly. Saeko seemed to understand what had caused the boys' erratic behavior, which made her blush increase.

"It's this apron, isn't it?" she asked. "Normally, I wouldn't be wearing such an outfit, but my clothes are already with the others in the washing machine." She then turned to Naruto. "I was going to ask if you wanted your clothes to be washed as well, Naruto-san, but you were sleeping. I saw your jacket and shirt draped over a chair, and figured that you would prefer your clothes to be cleaned instead of aired out. I'm sorry for taking them without asking."

"Ah, no, don't worry about that. I've been meaning to thank you for doing that for me anyways." replied Naruto.

Saeko smiled. "Still, to be dressed in something so provocative to the point it makes you two uneasy, it's so shameless!"

"Ah, no! No, that's not the problem! We..., er, ...well, that is, we were just thinking of possible escape plans if things take a turn for the worse. Weren't we, Naruto?" stammered Takashi.

"Y-yeah, yeah, that's exactly what we were thinking about. Besides, you don't need to worry, Saeko-chan, you look very cute in that apron." The moment the words left Naruto's mouth, he wished that he could have taken them back. He couldn't believe how easily he had let that slip out, and was sure that the kendoka was going to beat him to a bloody pulp for being a "_pervert_", just like Sakura did all the time. As he watched the girl's blush deepen, he steeled himself for what he assumed to be the beating of a lifetime.

"Th-Thank you, Naruto-kun." That was new, he had expected the girl to explode with anger and unleash the mother of all beatings on him. At least, that was what he had come to expect from watching Tsunade and Jiraiya interact, and from all the times that he had incurred Sakura's wrath. It was definitely a nice change for girl to thank him for complimenting her.

"TAKASHI! Listen to me when I'm talking to you, dammit!" It was Rei, who sounded a lot closer to their position, possibly in the middle of the stairwell. Judging by the clarity of her voice, she managed to get her slurring under control, but had taken to yelling instead. Takashi, however, looked torn on what to do. Judging by his facial expression, he _really _didn't want to talk to Rei at the moment, especially since she had already brought up the subject of Hisashi already, and would most likely talk about him again. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn't just ignore Rei and let her carry on as she was, that would just attract _them_ to the shelter. Saeko seemed to pick up on the internal strife that Takashi was going through, and decided to give the teen her opinion on the matter.

"Takashi-san, I say you should just humor her, at the very least for her sake. Sometimes, a woman just needs a shoulder to lean on." said Saeko.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "You might as well talk to her, Takashi. Since alcohol _is_ an inhibitor reducer, you're basically seeing her at her most vulnerable state as far as her emotions goes."

Takashi was surprised; he had somewhat expected an answer like that from Saeko, but not from Naruto But if the two of them agreed on the same idea, then he didn't see any harm in following their advice.

"Oh, alright." conceded Takashi. "If the both of you think that I should, I'll go and talk to her. I won't be long, Naruto-san, Busujima-san."

"Saeko." The brunette stop dead in his tracks and looked back at the purplette in confusion. "Please call me Saeko, Takashi-san. I'd like to believe that we are all friends, so that there won't be any need to use formalities when addressing each other." she explained.

Takashi's surprised expression melted into a relieved, friendly one. "Alright then, I'll keep that in mind from now on, Saeko-san.

"TAKASHI!", bellowed Rei, making the three teens cringe at the volume.

"Right, I best get going, and see what she wants, eh?" As Takashi awkwardly set off to calm Rei down, Naruto couldn't but shake his head in disbelief.

"Even though those two aren't even adults yet, they act like an old married couple." Naruto said aloud.

Saeko giggled. "Yes, they do act like from time to time, don't they?"

"Anyways, I just wanted to personally thank you for everything that you've done for us, Saeko-chan. Washing our clothes, cooking us lunch and dinner, you've really pulled out all the stops for all of us when you really didn't have to."

Saeko shook her head. "It was no problem, actually. To be honest, I think that I would've gone a bit stir crazy if I just sat around doing nothing all night. And if it helped everyone out, then it would be even more rewarding. It's the very least I can do, after everything that you and the others have done."

"Wha? What are you talking about, Saeko-chan? I hardly did anything extraordinary, all I did was fight alongside you, Kohta, and the others."

"That's where you're mistaken, Naruto-san. After seeing the way you fight, the way you came to Marikawa-Sensei's defense against that vile excuse of a man Shido, you've really inspired me on the way I fight. Up until now, I've always had some uncertainty getting in the way I fight, and I've subconsciously held back on my strength knowing that it would cause problems for me in the civilized world. Even now, despite our society's collapse, I still hold back out of fear of accidentally hurting someone. But then I saw you fight with such intensity and and determination in your eyes. You inspired me to stop restraining myself, and to fight with everything I have in order to live to see tomorrow." Naruto didn't know what to say. Sure, people told him that he had a way of inspiring people, but he had always just wrote it off as just giving them the final push that they needed to act. But hearing Saeko's passionate explanation made him begin to think that perhaps there was a grain of truth to the words of the people he encountered.

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Another shout broke the tranquil atmosphere, this time it came from Takashi. The outburst startled the two teenagers, both of them not expecting the mild-mannered boy to react so violently.

"On second thought, perhaps having those two _talk it out _wasn't such a good idea after all. Do you think that we should go in and stop them from doing something that they'll regret later on?"

Saeko's concerned gaze lingered at the doorway for a brief moment before she turned back to face Naruto. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. From what I've seen from Takashi-san, he is not one to instigate physical confrontations, especially with Rei-san. I think that it would be best if we allow them to solve whatever problems they have on their own, but if it degenerates into violence, we will intervene then."

"I guess you've got a point there. But did something happen between those two that I don't know about?" Before Saeko could answer him, they heard the loud telltale sounds of guns being fired near the balcony, where Kohta was supposedly last seen. The two shared a brief look before they ran off to where they heard the gunshots. They met up with Takashi and an abruptly-sobered Rei along the way, to see Kohta staring out into the night air through a pair of binoculars. Out in the distance, they could see the occasional flash of bright light followed by a loud bang, indicating that guns were being fired. Yet the ever increasing sounds of _their_ groaning, the screams of terror, as well as the more frequent sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart, it was clear that the survivors were rapidly being taken down.

"This just started a few minutes ago." said Kohta, solemnly, as offered the pair of binoculars that he was using to Takashi. "There were a bunch of people sneaking through the streets until someone accidentally knocked over a trash can. After that, all hell broke loose; those poor saps didn't have a chance."

"How horrible..." murmured Rei. If she wasn't somewhat sober from when she was in the building, she was now after seeing such savagery occur in front of her.

"This just too much." said Takashi, as he passed the binoculars to Saeko. "We have to help them. Kohta, can you lay down some cover fire for them?"

The teenage marksman understood where Takashi was going, and hefted a large MK-47 assault rifle up to his hands, and took aim at one of _them_.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there, Mr. Sharpshooter. While I know that you can make the shot, I'm pretty sure that the resulting consequences aren't going to do us any favors." said Naruto, as he gently pushed down the firearm's barrel.

"Naruto-san, what do you think you're doing? We have to help them!" exclaimed Takashi.

The blonde boy just looked at the stressed brunette, unable to believe that he was the one acting as the group's voice of reason. "Don't you remember what Takagi-san said? These _things_ hunt through their sense of hearing. If Kohta starts shooting _them_ down, one after another, where do you think they'll go to next? And with the number of _them_ running about, we'd be completely surrounded in a matter of minutes."

"He's right, Takashi-san." added Saeko, gaining a shocked expression from the boy. "If Kohta so much as fires a single shot, it will just attract _them _to our position. And even if you did manage to save a few survivors, what's to say that they won't turn on us the moment they're inside. Desperation can cause even the most level-headed men and women to do unspeakable acts." She then gestured to the scene before them. "Take a good long look at what is out here tonight, because you will be seeing several instances of this in the near future. Everyone must fight on their own in order to survive. I understand if you disagree; when the situation took a turn for the worse, you took charge like any honorable man would. But you must understand, the civilized world that we've all grown used to is slowly coming to an end." With that, Saeko turned to walk back into the building.

"I thought that you would be all for helping those in need, Saeko-san." said Takashi, his grip on the binoculars tightening until his knuckles turned white. "Your kindness was what I really admired about you. How can you go from acting so kind and compassionate in one instance, to being callous the next?"

Saeko turned back, a sad smile adorning her visage. "I'm sorry if I come off as harsh, Takashi-san, but I am only stating the facts. How you handle them is entire up to you." And on that final note, Saeko reentered the building, followed shortly by Rei. This left the three boys alone out on the balcony, with the occasional scream and gunshot going off in the background.

"She's right, you know." said Naruto, finally breaking the awkward silence between the three of them. He sighed as Takashi shot him a confused expression. "Saeko-chan wasn't trying to be mean or anything, Takashi, she was just concerned that your good nature will someday be your undoing. Even though it's commendable that you want to help those that are in trouble, you have to understand that as a whole, we don't have the time or resources to rescue every single survivor that we come across. Like Saeko-chan said, desperate times will make people do anything just to survive, even if it comes to sacrificing fellow survivors. I've seen it happen a few times in the past, and the end results are never pretty. I mean, I'm pretty sure that you've already seen such instances before, right?" Naruto paused while Takashi recalled his encounters with Shido, and the others that he and Rei experienced. "Look, I'm not saying that you need to cut off your emotions and become completely paranoid towards any other survivors that we come across. But you have to accept that the civilized world that you and your friends have grown up in no longer exists. As of now, it's survival of the fittest, and you will have to be willing to do just about anything to survive."

Without another word, Naruto walked back into the building suddenly feeling cold, and not just from the night's air. Even though his words held truth to them, he couldn't help but feel somewhat disgusted with himself for sounding like that backstabbing traitor, Danzō Shimura. The man's methods of using his emotionless minions to shamelessly prey on people's vulnerabilities for his own gain sickened him to no end. Yet at the same time, he knew that Danzō's methods were best suited for their current crisis. It was both frightening and revolting to know that damn conspirator's beliefs had some merit to them. Breaking out of his thoughts, he was surprised to see Saeko and Rei in some sort of heated stare-off. The two girls suddenly turned away from each other with a small _**hmph**_, both sporting a small scowl on their faces. The little display wasn't exactly foreign to Naruto, he had seen it happen between Sakura and Ino when they were still genin, though he _was_ curious as to what had caused their little argument in the first place. But he didn't dare ask them himself, somehow that didn't really seem tactful at the moment.

Suddenly, the trio heard a loud commotion and gunshots coming from the balcony. A second later, Takashi rushed back into the building.

"Oi, Takashi, what gives?!" yelled Naruto. He had thought that Takashi would've played things more safely after his and Saeko's warnings.

"Takashi, what's going on?" asked Rei.

"There was a father and daughter trying to find shelter from _them_, but the father was stabbed to death when they tried to get into one of the houses! Now that little girl's out in the alley, and about to be swarmed by _them_. Kohta's providing cover fire, but it's not going to be enough."

"I'll go with you!" said Rei. She was just about to bolt and grab her gear, when Takashi stopped her.

"No, Rei, I need you and Saeko-san to sat here and hold down the fort."

"What? But you wouldn't last a second out there on your own!"

"But it'll be better and quicker if I went alone using the motor bike. That way, if things go south, then we'll only risk losing one member of our group instead of two. Besides, the noise from Kohta's guns will attract the majority of _them _to our position, and I think it would be best if we had as many people here to fight _them _off." He then turned to Saeko, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "Bu-I mean Saeko-san, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. You and Naruto are right, this isn't the world we know anymore, and we can't always save every helpless person that we come across. But I just can't stand by idly in this case, not when its a child that saw her father get killed right in front of her eyes."

Saeko remained silent, her deep blue eyes gazing deep into Takashi's hazel eyes, until she finally broke eye contact as she shook her head, a ghost of a smile stretching across her visage. "I doubt that there's any way that I can convince you not to go through with this, is there?" she said at last, in which Takashi nodded in return. "Then get going, you have a little girl to save. We'll stay here and prepare the apartment for another guest."

Takashi gave her a sincere and thankful smile, before he dashed out the front door, followed by Saeko and Rei. Naruto was left standing in the now empty hallway, stuck at the figurative fork in the road. On one hand, he could go with Takashi and save the girl from being eaten alive by the horde of living dead, or just sit back and not bother wasting energy on a person that had a very slim chance of surviving. He knew that by going out in the open now was akin to a death wish, especially since the recent disturbances would have _them_ all worked up and racing towards any source of sound, specifically their base. But at the same time, he was disappointed in himself for even thinking of leaving a defenseless little girl to die after she had just saw her father get killed in front of her own eyes! It soon degraded into a battle of the brain vs. the heart, rational thinking vs. human instincts, until very soon the boy was left with a headache that was slowly getting worse.

"Goddammit." muttered Naruto. He rushed out the door, and into the front yard. He shuddered slightly as he completely left the warm confines of the apartment, making the ninja wish that he at least had shirt to wear. He saw Rei and Saeko at the gate, whilst Takashi was trying to get the motor bike started.

"Takashi! Hey, Takashi, hold up for a minute!" The three teens turned to look at the blond as he ran to where Takashi was still trying to get the blasted bike to start. "I'm going with you. If it's as bad as you say it is, you're going to need more than one person to reach that girl in time."

"Are you sure, Naruto-san?"

"Hey, you're going out to fight a horde of undead to save a little girl, and you _actually_ thought that I would just sit back and let you have all the fun? Besides, don't you know that it's always better to have a contingency plan just in case? Because, well no offense, I don't think that crowbar is going to _cut _it against _them_, if you know what I mean." Naruto took hold of the sword on his right side, withdrawing it from its sheathe far enough for the moonlight to shine off of the exposed blade's metallic surface. "Besides, if I go along with you, it'll ease Saeko-chan and Rei-san's worries about you going out alone. Right, ladies?"

Both girls looked a bit hesitant at first, but finally nodded their heads in consent. After all, two heads were better than one. Even Takashi had to agree with the blonde's reasoning.

"Alright, Naruto-san, you've made your point. Get on." Happy that he wouldn't be stuck on the sidelines, Naruto hopped onto the motor bike, although he felt a bit awkward mounting the strange contraption for the first time.

"So, how are we gonna do this then?" asked Naruto.

"It's simple, really. Rei and Saeko-san will open the gates for us, and then close after we move out. We weave through _them_, with Kohta providing cover fire, grab the girl, and then rush back as fast we can." explained Takashi.

"So, a quick '_grab-n-go_' rescue, eh?" Naruto withdrew both of his swords, flipping them both in a reverse grip. "Sounds easy enough."

**III**

'_This is SO not a 'grab-n-go'!_' Naruto mentally screamed. He was still in shock at how easily things fell apart for him and Takashi. Sure, things started out just fine: Kohta managed to keep several of _them_ from blindsiding the duo, whilst the blond sliced through any stranglers that managed to get too close. They were about three-fourths of the way to the girl, when suddenly one of _them_ came charging from their right a lot faster than what they had expected from an undead. Takashi managed to maneuver themselves out of harms way, but the sudden movement made him lose control of the vehicle. The brunette tried to reestablish control over the bike, but in his haste he accidentally made it accelerate, which in turn made the bike flip over to the side, throwing off the two boys and onto the unforgiving concrete. They weren't hurt too badly, but the bike's forward inertia and the loud scrapping noises it made as it skidded across the street didn't help their situation.

They didn't have time to dwell on their predicament, however, as the little girl didn't have much time left if her screams of fright were anything to go by. Despite their new scrapes and bruises, the boys dashed to where they heard the girl's scream. They arrived just in time to see the girl in question being cornered by a group of _them_, but were surprised to see a puppy dog standing protectively in front of the child, futilely barking at the advancing living corpses. Wasting no time, they sprung into action; with Takashi bashing _their_ heads with his crowbar resulting in explosions of decayed bone and brain matter, whilst Naruto sliced and diced his way through _them_, leaving nothing but headless bodies with bloody geysers shooting from their severed necks.

After making sure horde was permanently dealt with, the boys checked to see if the girl was uninjured, until the poor girl brought up her father, whose body was laying close by. Somberly, the three draped a cloth over the devoted parent's face, and placed a flower on the man's chest as sign of respect, while offering the deceased a quick prayer. Unfortunately for the three humans and one canine, their situation continued to worsen at an alarming rate. The crash had all but totaled the bike, meaning that they would have to make the trip back to their shelter on foot. The very thought of having to fight their way through all of _them, _especially with a young girl following them, wasn't very when they looked back at the apartment, the boys were further dismayed to see dozens of _them_ crowding at the gates, trying to break through the barrier separating the rest of their party from a horrid death. Figuring that walking down the road was much too dangerous, they decided that traveling via the concrete barriers that enclosed the buildings was the only viable choice.

The trip was quite harrowing, with Takashi carrying the girl on his shoulders, whilst Naruto delicately balanced the pup on top of his head in a way similar to how Kiba did when Akamaru was younger. They had a few close calls in which they had barely avoided being knocked off the narrow walkway by a few of _them_ that came too close. But for Naruto, there was one bright moment in their dire situation, in which he couldn't help but find hilarious. With everything that had happened, the action and drama apparently caused the girl's bladder to work overtime to the point where she couldn't hold it in anymore. Unfortunately, they couldn't just hop off and find a place for the girl to do her business, in fear that they would be attacked the moment they set foot on the ground. So, in a move that caught Naruto by surprise, Takashi allowed to the little girl to relieve herself on him! He had to give the high school student credit, not many guys would willingly allow a little girl to urinate on them to prevent them from becoming zombie bait. Then again, this was the first time that he had ever encountered a situation dealing with the cannibalistic living dead. But his amusement didn't last long, as they approached a section next to the road where the amount of _them_ seemed to have tripled.

'_This is terrible. Even if we do make it back to the apartment, there will so many of _them _bashing against the gate that it'll collapse in a matter of seconds. And once _they _make it pass the outer defense, it'll all be over for us. If only I could use my jutsu, then I'd be able to clear the streets in no time. But then, that would just bring up too many questions. Plus, with this damn virus still in the air, I'd just be dead weight to Takashi and the girl afterward.'_,thought Naruto. '_Is this really how we're going to die?_'

The sudden sound of a heavy-duty motor approaching broke the blonde out of his inner rantings. His eyes focused to where he thought where the noise was coming from, and was greeted with the sight of the armored vehicle that he had seen earlier, charging down the street and running down all of _them_ that lingered in its path. As it approached to their position, he could make Kohta armed with another firearm and Saeko holding her bokken at the ready, both of them standing through an opening that was placed on the vehicle's roof. The massive contraption came to a stop beside them, giving Naruto a chance to see Shizuka sitting behind the steering wheel, who was for some reason only clad in the towel she wore to bed. Despite the critical situation that he was in, Naruto couldn't help but blush profusely at the thought that the nurse was all but completely nude.

A quick shout from Takashi brought Naruto back to more pressing matters. With a great effort, Takashi leaped off the ledge and landed on the vehicle's roof. Saeko then proceeded to help the young girl into the vehicle as Kohta shot down every one of _them_ that got too close. Yet, despite the bespectacled shooter's best efforts, more and more of _them_ swarmed around the armored transport, which soon began to sway from _their_ efforts.

'_Goddammit this is not good._' thought Naruto as he glimpsed at the group's frightened visages. '_With all of these things crowding around, it'll only be a matter of time before _they _manage to break through. And I doubt that Kohta, Saeko-chan, and I can take down all of _them_ fast enough to escape. If I could just use my jutsu, or maybe my explosive tags, I might be able to get rid of the majority of _them_, or at least enough for us to escape safely. But that will just show everyone that I'm not from this world, and will most likely think that I'm some sort freak, or an abomination of science. But if I don't do something, they'll all be eaten alive.' _

"Naruto-san!" Takashi's urgent sounding voice brought him back to reality. Looking back down at the parked vehicle, he saw both Takashi and Saeko gazing up at him with frantic expressions. "Naruto-san, what are you waiting for? Jump! We have get moving before more of _them _appear!" Sure enough, several more of the undead were clambering to their location. The ninja looked from the group to the large mass of _them_ approaching, and then back to the group, before he made is decision with a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, Takashi, but I can't." he said, his tone eerily calm yet firm at the same time.

"What? Why the hell not?" exclaimed Takashi. Saeko's expressionbecame even more frantic, showing that she had heard what he said over the gunshots.

Naruto stayed silent as he carefully removed the puppy from his head. "Because I'm staying here as a distraction." With that, he tossed the puppy to Takashi, who caught the now whimpering canine. "I'm going to draw _them_ away long enough for all of you to get away. I'll catch up with you guys after I take_ them _down."

"Just you against all _them_? You'd be torn apart in seconds!" exclaimed Saeko.

"We're not leaving you behind, Naruto!" shouted Kohta, gaining the attention of the other passengers.

"What's going on? Naruto, what do you think you're doing?" interjected Rei.

Naruto just sent her a small smile. "Don't worry, Rei. I have a plan."

"And just what is this _oh so brilliant plan _of yours, anyways?" If anything, Saya seemed even more irritable with him than before. Not that Naruto could blame her, considering what he was about to do. He managed to give the girl a sheepish grin, which only seemed to agitate the girl even more.

"Well, to be honest, I've sorta been holding out on you guys. But, it was for a good reason, I assure you." Naruto added hastily, so as not to infuriate the pinkette even more. "Before I met up with you guys, I came across a few small-scale explosives on the remains of a guy that was torn to shreds. They should be strong enough to exterminate a good lot of _them_, but they've suffered some severe damage to the point that someone needs stay behind to make sure that they detonate properly."

"Stay behind? Detonate properly?" murmured Takashi, before his eyes widened in recognition. But his comments were overheard by the others, who were able to come up with the same conclusion as the group's leader. "Naruto-san, don't tell me th-"

"NO!" interrupted Naruto, "NO! Don't even think like that, Takashi! I am _**not**_ that type of person that throws away his life at the first signs of trouble, so get that thought out of your head this instant!

"But then why do you have to stay behind? Maybe the damage isn't as severe as you think it is! If you explained how to use them properly, then you won't have to stay behind!"

Naruto had to hold back the wince as he looked Kohta in the eyes. "Sorry, Kohta, but there's not enough time. These explosives are very difficult to handle correctly, and I don't have the time to explain how they work. And besides, I'm the only one that's capable of moving about; if any of you guys try to get out, you'd just put yourself and everyone else in danger."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, but this is something only I can do. But I _will _meet up with you all once I take care of this situation, this I promise all of you! And if there's anything that you should know about me, it's that I never go back on my word." interjected Naruto, his gaze hard as steel. Everyone became silent, no doubt trying to think of a way that they could all escape without having to leave him behind. While Naruto was touched that they cared that much about him, it was starting to test his patience. He was grateful when Saeko broke the silence.

"...We have to go, now. If Naruto-kun is going to risk his life for us, then we should respect his wishes and use the time he buys us to our advantage." said Saeko, grimly, shocking everyone in the vehicle.

"What? NO! We can't just leave him here!" shrieked Shizuka, surprising everyone once again; if the normally jovial school nurse reacted this strongly to an idea, then it was obvious that it wasn't one that she would recommend.

Naruto felt a twinge of regret for making the nurse so upset with his decision, but he knew that he had to go through with it. At least Saeko was understanding enough. "Real quick, do you guys have any idea where you're all heading to?"

It was Kohta who answered, in a somewhat somber manner. "...The other side of the river, the one that we saw from the balcony on the other side of this neighborhood."

"Right then. I'll meet up with you guys just as soon as I take care of this mess! Now go!" Before the others could say anything else, Naruto withdrew his left sword and a kunai from his pouch, before he ran the point of the throwing knife on the flat side of the blade. The effect was instantaneous, the sound of metal scrapping against metal carrying over the thrum of the internal combustion engine, alerting the undead of a new possible victim. Repeating this action again and again as he ran away further into the alleyway, he managed to lead _them _away from the group. Chancing a glance behind him, he saw to his relief that the armored transport was already on the move. Pleased to see that the others were making their way to safety, he stopped at a corner where the fence stopped to make way for a four-way intersection. Looking down from the ledge, he saw that the entire street was now completely overflown with _them, _which suited the ninja just fine.

"Alright, you reanimated, cannibalistic bastards, this is were the all-you-can-eat buffet ends!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure that the living dead were focused on him as he withdrew several exploding tags and kunai from his pouch. With a few quick flicks of his wrist, he twisted the highly volatile slips of paper around the handles of the kunai, creating a few makeshift frag grenades.

"Let's go wild!" roared Naruto, as he leaped into the air, and let the few explosive kunai fly from his hand, towards the large undead masses.

_To Be Continued... _

**III**

**Oh-kay then, the third addition is finally done. I did not expect this to turn out so long. In fact, I had expected to include the fight scene, But I guess it'll have to wait until next time. I've gotten a few reviews criticizing how I made Naruto fight like a normal civilian and not as a ninja. Do not fret, I had no intention of just leaving that part unexplained, much like Stephenie Meyer does in regards to why her sparkly vampires can never see the simpler solutions to the predicaments they face in life. (**_**Oh yeah, I went there. Suck it, Stephenie Meyer!**_**) Hopefully, this chapter will explain why Naruto isn't spamming shadow clones the moment he arrived in Zombieland. Sorry that there was such a long time in updates. But I lost my flash drive that held all of the data for the stories, and had to rely on the back-up copies that was last saved during the very early stages of writing. And it has been a real pain to literally rewrite this entire chapter. So, enjoy my friends. If you like it, why not leave a review. If you hate, why not leave a review explaining why, so that I can try harder next time. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Love Amongst Survivors**

**Yo! I'm back, again! Same as always, I own nada! **

**Part 4 **

**XXX**

_**Last time on Love Amongst Survivors**_

"_Alright, you reanimated, cannibalistic bastards, this is where the all-you-can-eat buffet ends!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure that the living dead were focused on him as he withdrew several exploding tags and kunai from his pouch. With a few quick flicks of his wrist, he twisted the highly volatile slips of paper around the handles of the kunai, creating a few makeshift frag grenades. _

"_Let's go wild!" roared Naruto, as he leaped into the air, and let the few explosive kunai fly from his hand, towards the large undead masses. _

_Flashback end _

**Story Start:**

_Present time_

'_Okay, so maybe I could have handled that situation a little more sensibly, but then again, I always seemed to get caught up in the heat of the moment._' thought Naruto, a gentle breeze pulling at his locks of hair. '_But it was one hell of a battle that I would never forget, and forever change how I viewed zombies._'

**XXXX **

_Flashback Start_

Just as the kunai were mere inches away from striking their targets, the explosive tags detonated with tremendous force, consuming a large cluster of undead in a massive gout of flames and shrapnel. Many of _them _were destroyed, leaving enough room for Naruto to safely land on the ground. The smell of burning, decaying flesh immediately assaulted his nostrils, momentarily stunned the blonde, but the groans from the approaching undead was enough for him to snap back into action. Without a moment's hesitation, he brought his hands into his signature cross-shaped seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" From out of nowhere, five identical replicas of the blonde appeared. Naruto knew he had to restrain himself from creating his usual amount of Kage Bunshin, remembering Kurama's warning about heavily relying on his ninjutsu. Whilst his handicap made things harder for him, he was still confident that he could come out on top. In unison, the six blonde ninjas withdrew their katanas and charged as one into the encircling horde with a mighty roar, drawing the attention of the zombies.

The Narutos were in constant motion, hacking and slashing, beheading every single undead that came within reach of their blades. Since there was nobody around to see them in action, they immediately encased their blades with wind-natured chakra, making it easier to cut through _their _decaying muscles and bones. The original Naruto bisected another decaying man's head with a double horizontal slash before striking the zombie creeping up behind him with a reverse wheel kick. Using the momentum from the kick, he swung his swords to the left, slicing off the rotting hands of another undead as he continued his spin and finally destroyed the handless zombie's head. Unfortunately, he was caught unawares by the zombie coming from his left. Unable to defend himself, it clamped down on his shoulder with surprising force. Naruto shouted in pain as blood gushed out from where the zombie was gnawing at...until he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and was replaced by another rotting zombie. Throughout the chaos, the two decaying beings didn't notice the small plumes of smoke trailing from the explosive tags that had been placed on their chests. A massive explosion consumed the two zombies, and several of the surrounding undead in a massive fireball that completely incinerated them, and set several more on fire.

'_Huh,if a normal person becomes a zombie when he's bitten by an infected, then what would happen if a zombie gets bitten by one of its own kind? Does that somehow nullify the virus, or make the body decay at a faster rate?' _thought Naruto, before he felt the memories from three of his clones, signifying their demise at the hands of the horde of undead.

"_**Is it really this time for such thoughts? Wait until we're clear of this decaying quagmire before you start this mindless rambling about super zombies!**_" interjected Kurama. Naruto had to agree, as he felt yet another clone's memories rush back to him, depicting how it was torn limb from limb in a gory fashion.

'_Shit! This is getting out of control fast! I don't know how much longer I can last before I'm zombie chow._' thought Naruto, whilst slashing two more undead that got too close to him, right before he stabbed another zombie that was creeping behind him in the head. Chancing a glance around his surroundings, he was disheartened to see the mass of zombies surrounding him and his remaining clones. '_I think that it's about time to make a tactful withdrawal._' His eyes darted from left to right, until he spotted a clear path from the corner of his eyes. He didn't know if it led to the river, but he didn't have the luxury of being picky.

Whipping out two more explosive tags and wrapping them around the handle of a kunai, he launched it at the large group at his left, his two clones mimicking his actions. The three resulting explosions created a large enough opening for the three blondes to escape. Not wasting any time, Naruto and his clones raced through the clear paths that were before him. He didn't dare use chakra to augment his speed in fear of worsening the strain on his body; already he could feel the slight aches stabbing through his body steadily getting worse. Things became even more difficult when the zombies began to surround him, slowly boxing him in once again, his remaining clones finally cracking under the pressure of fighting off the numerous assailants. Having enough of fighting on the ground, Naruto jumped on top of the lead zombie's head, using it as a spring board to launch himself into the air. As he soared through the air, he couldn't help but grimace at what he saw below him; hundreds of zombies squirming around, giving off the illusion of a sea of decay and death, making him realize just how outnumbered he really was.

On his descent, he angled his body so that he landed on top of a zombie's head, the force from his fall instantly crushing its head in a splash of brain matter, skull fragments, and blood. Although his exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him, he knew that he had to keep going; with another leap Naruto flew through the air and landed on top of another undead's head. Soon, Naruto was leaping from head to head, as if he were playing an absurd version of hopscotch. The masses of undead, having been alerted of a potential meal by the destruction of their fellow decaying brethren, tried to ensnare the blonde as he passed by. The ninja was making good progress, leaping from head to head and slicing off every hand that came close to making contact with him, but when he was about make it to the clear zone, one zombie's hand managed to clip his foot just as he jumped off. The sudden action caused Naruto to lose his balance, and crash noisily into a heap of garbage cans on the ground. As he shakily got back onto his feet, he was disheartened to see that the undead horde was shuffling towards his position, having heard him when he crashed.

"God damn it." muttered Naruto. "I guess it's about time for me to get to the rendezvous point." Luckily for him, the path behind him wasn't crowded with the walking dead. Peering down the alley, he saw that it went a ways east until it came to the end of the block, which included another four-way intersection, and hopefully another road that led towards the river. Channeling the smallest amount of chakra he could manage, he sprinted down the street, intent on putting as much distance between him and the horde as possible. He had reached about halfway down the road, when suddenly the back gate to a house burst open, a large mass of zombies dropping to the ground in a massive pile. The ninja had barely been able to dodge the writhing limbs that sought to grab a hold of him.

'_Shit, that made me jump!_' thought Naruto, as he continued to on. He was just making the turn around the corner, when an intense flash of pain shot through his body, nearly causing him to stumble forward. '_Ah, damn it! Not now, I'm nearly there!' _It took everything ounce of his willpower not to cry out in agony, in fear of alerting any undead stragglers that were possibly roaming about. He could basically see the river at the end of the road, the moonlight glimmering off of the water's surface in a tantalizing way, as if it were the gateway to heaven. All that stood in between him and the group was a long stretch of road, a countless amount of zombies, and several abandoned and/or destroyed vehicles. Unfortunately it seemed as if Lady Luck was ignoring the young ninja, for the moment after Naruto passed the second house on his left, the front gate collapsed, allowing the zombies that were crowded behind it to join the mob that was shuffling after the blond. His patience having left him earlier that night, Naruto pulled out two of his more powerful explosive notes that had the shortest "fuse", wrapped them around another kunai, and hurled it behind him. But as he dared to glance behind him, he was startled to see the zombies a lot closer to him than he expected, even more so when the lead zombie had the explosive kunai lodged in its chest.

'_Shit! Running zombies, that's the last thing that I need right now!_' Naruto mentally screamed, his eyes widening when he sensed the chakra within the tag beginning to build up. Channeling more chakra into his feet, Naruto tried to leap away in a desperate attempt to put as much distance between him and the walking bomb, but the force behind the explosion was still powerful enough to throw the unfortunate blond into a trio of trash cans that were sitting out in the street. Naruto tried to regain his equilibrium, when suddenly another wave of pain coursed throughout his entire body, the agony so severe that he failed to stop the strangled cry that escaped his throat. To make matters worse, he could hear the ever dreaded moaning that he had associated with the undead approaching closer and closer to his position.

'_No! No, no, no! I've gotta move, gotta get out of here!_' Naruto raged internally, as he struggled to get back to his feet, only to collapse onto the ground once again. He crawled desperately from the approaching horde, not willing to give up without a fight. He was a few feet away from reaching the middle of another intersection when he suddenly heard shots being fired near him. Acting on instinct, he dove to the ground, covering the back of his head, and waited for the unknown shooter to cease firing. Shot after shot was fired, and each one was accompanied with the sound of an undead's head exploding. The moment the sounds of shooting finally stopped, Naruto slowly turned to see what had become of the horde of undead that had been tailing him for some time, only to be amazed that every one of them was lying on the ground, headless and unmoving.

"You alright down there?" someone drawled from up above. Looking to where the voice originated from, Naruto noticed that it came from an obscured figure that was standing on an outstretched limb from a tree that was in a house's backyard. Without any warning, the figure leapt off of its perch and landed gracefully on the ground in front of him, a few feet away from the next road intersection. The man was dressed in leather boots, dark blue pants, a blue shirt, a tan trench coat, and a black wide-brimmed hat. He had a rusty red beard that covered his lower face, and had a somewhat cocky smirk stretched across his visage. There were two straps overlapping across his chest, suggesting that he had two weapons in reserve. But what really caught Naruto's attention was the firearm in the man's hands, a shotgun if he recalled Kohta's little explanation.

'_Okay, where the hell did this guy come from? And why do I sense an overwhelming aura of smugness practically radiating from him?_' thought Naruto as he got back onto his feet. "Um, yeah, I am now. Thanks for the assist."

The man's smile seemed to widen a margin. "You know, it's pretty dangerous for you to be out here all alone at this time of night. Especially considering what's prowling these streets." Suddenly, without warning, the man aimed his gun at his general direction. Acting out of instinct, Naruto dropped to the ground just as the man fired his weapon. The sickening wet explosion, and the death gurgle that he heard from behind him indicated that the undead behind him was neutralized.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?!_" Naruto whispered as loudly as he dared, still wary of any possible undead that could spring up at any moment.

"Relax, son," replied the man, as he chambered another round, "I wasn't aiming anywhere near you."

He then fired upon another undead, relieving it of its head.

"Will you stop that?! You're just going to attract more of _them_ to our location!"

"Let them come. Just like all the others, I'll blast them all to hell!" said the man, arrogantly. "I've accomplished too much to be taken out by some mindless living corpses."

"Just who the hell do you think you are?!" asked Naruto, exasperatedly.

That just made the man's smirk widen. "Well, youngster, I am known by many names. But you can call me Walker, Texas Rang-URRKK!" Right in the middle of his introduction, a trio of fast moving zombies ran into the intersection and slammed into Walker, dragging him to the ground. The undead instantly began feasting upon their prey with gusto, Walker's screams of agony breaking the night's semi-tranquil atmosphere. The noise only attracted even more undead, who soon joined in on the meal. Naruto, on the other hand, remained on the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief at the grotesque scene before him. He absently noticed that there were two large guns laying on the ground in front him, the ones that he assumed Walker had strapped to his back. One them looked like one of those shotguns that Kohta had gotten from the safe, whilst the other was significantly smaller and had a small rectangle (he recalled Kohta calling it a magazine) sticking out of the bottom of it. Beside the two large weapons was extra ammunition for the two different guns. The blonde's gaze swept from the weapons to the cluster of undead feasting upon Walker, and then back at the guns.

'_Well, it's not like he's going to be using them any time in the future._' he thought grimly, before he grabbed hold of the weapons and slipped them underneath the straps of his sheaths, and pocketed the ammo. He then glanced back at the writhing pile of undead, and the still screaming Walker. '_No point in staying here, the guy's as good as dead. Besides, I've got to meet up with the others._' With a running start, Naruto leapt over the pile of zombies and continued on down the road. Although he was saddened that he had witnessed the gruesome death of a human being, he knew that there was nothing that he could've dome for him. And for some reason, he found that he wasn't as upset as he had first thought he would be.

"**CHOKE...ON...IT!**" gargled Walker. "**CHOKE! ON! IT!**"

'_Oh wow,...that...that was...pretty disturbing._' thought Naruto. Without warning, the blonde felt a massive chill run down his spine, nearly making him loose his balance. '_WHOA! What the hell? Hey Kurama, did you fell that huge tremor was just now?' _

"_**Yes. Yes, I did.**_" answered the bijū through their shared mental link.

'_Well, do you any idea what could have caused it?_'

"_**The collective despair and turmoil of idiot-worshipers world wide, mourning the lose of their overrated idol?**_"

'..._What?_'

"_**Never mind, you're better off not knowing.**_" quipped the fox, although Naruto could have sworn that he heard Kurama mutter something along the line of "_**I can't believe that there's one in **_**this world**_**, too**_".

**XXXX **

After running for nearly an hour nonstop, Naruto decided to take a small break. He stopped in a block that he had seen teeming with undead earlier in the night. But with the sun now beginning to rise, he saw that the streets were completely deserted; the unmoving bodies of humans and undead scattered across the area. He also noticed a large object further up the street that he had never seen before. Curiosity getting the better of him, he crept closer to the mysterious bulk, only to blanch in disgust as the strong stench of blood and decaying flesh assaulted his nostrils. Once his vision cleared, he was met with a grotesque sight.

The shadowed object was some sort of vehicle that ran on a set of treads, and had some sort of plow attached to the front of it. But what really got his attention was the gratuitous amount of gore, from both the undead and human bodies, splattered against its metal surface. Behind the vehicle, was a massive trail of blood and assorted limbs, as well as several more bodies strewn around the street. No longer able to stand being in such a depressing area, Naruto made his way towards the rendezvous point, when one particular body caught his attention.

It was a grown man, in some sort of militant-like uniform. His skin was deathly pale, and there were no bite marks visible anywhere, indicating that the man wasn't an undead when he was finally put down. The man had a small firearm gripped in his hand, and a small circular wound in the side of his head. His eyes were gaping lifelessly towards Naruto, depicting no emotion on his visage. It was easy to determine how the man died; the fact that he was holding the weapon responsible made it all the more obvious. But the real clincher for the young ninja was when he noticed the photograph in the man's left hand, which depicted what he assumed to be the man's family. That was the last straw for the blonde as looked at the dead man with new-found contempt; he had always held a strong belief that parents should never abandon their kids, unless it was a life or death situation. Having heard of how Sakumo Hatake's suicide had traumatized Kakashi so severely, that it had drastically affected in such a negative manner, made Naruto's disdain to those who chose suicide even stronger. It just didn't make any sense why a man would just take his own life, and leave such a gaping hole in his family's life.

But judging on the amount of undead bodies that littered the area, the young ninja had a decent understanding as to why the man had taken his own life, as he had seen how everything went to hell in a basket from their house's balcony. With the living dead roaming the streets, killing and infecting people left and right, the man had prevented himself from being infected by an undead and becoming another member of the horde by taking his own life. It would have also eliminated the chance of becoming infected, and then later passing the virus to someone else.

"I'm sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what you must have gone through. Even though I hate people that resort to suicide, I can understand why you did it. I hope that you find peace in the afterlife" said Naruto, as he gently slid the deceased man's eyelids over the lifeless eyes with his hand. He then carefully removed the small gun from the man's grasp, and searched his pockets for ammunition. He found five round plastic circles, with a small knob on top of it, each holding five small metallic things Kohta had called "bullets". Pocketing his finds in his back pouch, he spared the deceased man one last glance before he raced down the street, intent on meeting up with his party without encountering anymore catastrophes.

**XXXX **

The trip towards the river was pretty much uneventful to the blonde after he had left the scene of the street massacre. The few small groups of undead that he encountered were fairly simply to avoid and distract. All it took was a rock and some metallic trash cans. Crossing the river itself was surprisingly easy via water walking, although it did make the blonde somewhat anxious in using chakra, on the off chance that his body seized up again. Given that there weren't any boats readily available, however, and that time was of the essence, he had to run the risk. He had a few mishaps, in which he nearly fell into the water, but he managed to quickly recover. The sun was just starting to rise as his feet finally touched down on terra firma once again, when another problem reared its ugly head.

"I don't know where the group is supposed to meet! I never asked for the specific location from Kohta!" moaned Naruto, who felt like kicking himself for forgetting such important information. "Now what am I going to do?"

"_**Kit, calm down. Just channel a minute amount of chakra to your nose, and track them by their scent, like one of those damn Inuzukas.**_" advised Kurama.

'_Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Kurama!_' thought Naruto. '_Wait a minute, what do you have against the Inuzuka clan?_'

"_**What **_**don't**_** I have against their clan? The humans are practically the same as their blasted mongrel companions: loud, arrogant, extremely territorial, overly aggressive when it comes to **__**searching for mates, and they happen to hunt members of my species for sport. Now quit wasting time, and get on with it already!**_" snarled the fox, before becoming silent once again.

Acting on Kurama's advice, Naruto surged his chakra towards his nose, and took a deep whiff of the air around him. Immediately, he began to cough and hack as a strong toxic chemical smell assaulted his senses.

'_No doubt that's the synthetic virus that's causing all of this anarchy._' thought Naruto bitterly, as he tried to get the horrible stench out of his nose. He was about to take another whiff, when he suddenly realized something. '_Just how am I supposed to track the group's scent?! Damn it! It's like every step forward I take, I'm always going back two. Hold on,...Takashi! That little girl pissed on him! So all I've got to...oh wait, just about anyone would either piss or crap themselves if they saw what was going on. Damn, back to square one again._' He was about to scream in frustration when he caught wind of another scent, this one being far more pleasant than the first two. It was faint and on the move, but it was somewhat familiar to him. It reminded him of being in the flower shop Ino's father ran, as he had visited the store often to see if they had imported any new flowers that he could try his hand at growing. Then, it hit him: Shizuka Marikawa's shampoo! She had washed her hair with floral scented shampoo earlier last night! Focusing on that particular scent, he also found the lingering scent of urine moving along with it, on his far left.

Wasting no time, Naruto sped down the earthen trail towards where the scent was, all the while keeping an eye out for any straggling undead along the way. He was twenty minutes into his run, with nothing to see but the grassy incline to his left, and the occasional tree. But then, something caught his eye; he noticed something large further up in the distance. The closer he got to it, the larger it became, until Naruto was able to see that it was a large bridge that stretched across the entire river. Additionally, there were a few decently-sized trees that were planted on both sides of the shadow that the bridge made. After thirty more minutes of running, he was about half way near the bridge's shadow and starting to tire. He was thinking about taking a short rest in the shade that was made by the bridge, and possibly reconfirm that he was indeed going the right way, when he saw something that lifted his spirits. There in front of him, cutting across the river, was the large "tank-like" vehicle that his party had drove off in. Instantly, the scent of the nurse's shampoo, and incidentally the smell of urine, became more potent to the ninja. Ignoring the exhaustion that was slowly catching up to him, Naruto pushed himself to run faster so that he could reunite with the group as quickly as possible. Just as the vehicle finally rolled out of the river and onto the ground Naruto let a sharp whistle, catching the attention of Kohta and the little girl, both of whom were riding on the roof of the vehicle.

"Hey, stop the Humvee, Sensei! Naruto-san's back!" shouted Kohta, slamming his hand on the large vehicle's roof. With a lurch, the Humvee came to stop, jostling everyone inside as well as allowing Naruto to catch up to them.

"Onii-chan, you made it back safely!" exclaimed the girl. Naruto just smiled as he gently grasped the young girl's outstretched hand.

"Of course I did! There's nothing that will stop me from coming back to you guys!" answered Naruto, with one of his trademark grins.

"It's good to see that you're still in one piece, Naruto-san. Those explosives of yours were wicked, we practically felt the shockwaves as we drove away!" said Kohta, as he pumped fists with the blond. The puppy, at that moment, decided to take make itself known, licking Naruto's extended hand, all the while wagging its tail.

"Hey there, little buddy."said Naruto, scratching the little dog behind its ears, making its tail wag even faster. He stepped back so as to allow everyone else in the Humvee to get out, figuring that they would want to stretch their legs or get some fresh air. Almost immediately, he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his body and pull him into a tight embrace, his face pressed against a large, warm, soft mass.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, we're so glad that you're alright! We were all worried sick about you!" cried Shizuka, squeezing the blonde ninja even tighter against herself. With some difficulty, Naruto managed to move his face out of the woman's cleavage to give her an appreciative smile. His face, however, took on a blood-red blush once he realized the position he was in: Firstly, the nurse was holding him tightly against her body, to the point that his face was pressed against one the most amazing pair of breasts he had ever seen on a woman. And secondly, Shizuka was still only clad in the white towel she wore whilst the group made their escape.

"Um, I'm...sorry that I worried you, Marikawa-san,...and I'm glad that you and everyone else is safe too!" began Naruto, trying his best not to pass out from the massive nosebleed that he was holding back. "But could you please,..not hold me so tightly? You're...kinda...well...you know..." At first, the woman was confused to what Naruto was talking about, and as to why his face was so red. That is, until, she looked down at their position, and remembered the state of dress she was in. In a blink of an eye, she released Naruto from her hold and leapt back three feet from him, a small blush of her own stretched across her cheeks as she tried to stretch the towel so that it covered more of her...intimate...areas.

"G-Gomen, Naruto-kun. I guess I got caught up in the moment, ne?" she offered, sheepishly. Naruto was about to answer her, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Turning to face his attacker, he saw that it was none other than Saya Takagi, who was looking quite annoyed.

"What were you thinking, going off on your own acting as the suicidal hero?" she grounded out. "Did you know that we all thought that was the last time that we were ever going to see you alive?!"

A twinge of guilt passed through Naruto's heart, he didn't mean to make them worry over him, although the fact that Saya and the others actually cared about his safety was still a surprise to him. It was a sort of comforting feeling, one that he was still trying to get used to.

"Well, I'm here now. I kept my promise, didn't I?" asked Naruto, giving the agitated pinkette a gentle smile. The intelligent pinkette looked like she wanted to scream at him some more, until her scowl relaxed into a calmer expression.

"Yes." she said, slowly. "You did keep your promise in the end. But don't you ever go and do something that stupid again!"

Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop at the girl's attitude; the rate in which Saya switched moods was something else. "Er, I'll try not to, Takagi-san." said Naruto, not wanting to become the target of her temper once again. The rest of reunion was more relaxed, with both Takashi and Rei giving him a simple "Welcome back.", and Saeko merely smiling warmly and nodding respectfully towards him.

For a moment, Naruto was content to simply bask in the tranquility, until Kohta asked Takashi to help get the little girl down, whom the ninja learned was called Alice. Just as Takashi was about to reach up to the young girl, she immediately pushed down her skirt and began to blush.

"Uh,...my panties," she began, "they...uh...they're still not..."

Like a flash of lightning, Naruto recognized what exactly was her problem, as well as what had caused the accident in the first place. And after seeing Takashi's expression as he too recalled the incident, Naruto could help but break out in a fit of giggles as he gently lifted the dog from the Humvee's roof and placed the animal on the ground. He was just keeping his amusement concealed from everybody else, but it only got worse when Rei stormed up to Takashi, eye brow twitching and her cheeks puffed out in anger, and snatched Alice from the boy's grips.

"What is wrong with you, embarrassing this poor girl like that?" lambasted Rei, as she held the young girl tight against her chest.

"Schnrk! Oh, shit!" snorted Naruto, as he tried to get his snickering back under control. But his efforts were for naught as Rei's eyes snapped towards him, her cheeks now blushing red with fury.

"Naruto, are you _laughing_?!"

The question broke whatever self-restraint Naruto had left, his laughter sounding loud and clear for all to hear. The puppy standing before started to bark wildly, as if sensing the ninja's mirth, further driving Takashi into a state of depression.

"BWAHAHAHA! I-I'm sorry! I...I...I can't hhhheeelp it!" Naruto wheezed in between bouts of laughter.

Rei's eyebrow was twitching like mad. "This is exactly why boys should just...ARGH! You know what, never mind!" With a huff, she retrieved the large beige duffel bag from the Humvee, before she gently lead the little girl towards one of the bigger trees on the other side of the large vehicle. The other females went to to follow Rei, but not before the girl gave the three boys a withering glare.

"We girls are going to go change now. If we catch any of you trying to sneak a peek, you're dead, got it?!" she said with as much righteous feminine fury as she could. Naruto, as well as Kohta and Takashi merely nodded their heads, figuring it was best to do everything they could to avoid being the target of four angry females.

"So, the girl's name is Alice?" asked Naruto, once the girls went behind the tree.

"Yes, Alice Maresato." confirmed Takashi.

"And what about this little guy?" The ninja crouched down to scratch the puppy behind its ears, causing the small canine to thump its hind leg against the ground.

Kohta chuckled. "We decided to call him Zeke. The name's from the America army, usually given to Zero fighters. Ain't that right, boy?"

The puppy gave a joyful bark in response, as if it knew the gun aficionado was talking about him. Naruto couldn't help but laugh, the scene before him reminding him of when he used hang out with Kiba and Akamaru when they were still academy students. "So, I take it everyone has taken a shine to our newest additions?"

"Yeah, the girls just think Zeke is absolutely adorable. And as for Alice, well, it's nice to have someone innocent through all of this mess."

"And we intend to keep it that way. But to do that, we need to stick together." interjected Takashi, his gaze settling on Naruto. "Although you managed to help us escape by staying behind, and you managed to come back on your own, what you did was very reckless, Naruto. You had us all worried, especially Alice. Now I know that there's no way to predict what kinds of obstacles we may face in the future, but if we are to survive this outbreak, we need to do so without taking wild and unnecessary risks. So I want you to promise me, Naruto, that you won't pull a stunt like you did last night, alright?"

At first, Naruto said nothing. He didn't know whether to feel appreciative that Takashi cared enough to confront him on his seemingly dangerous actions, or affronted by the teenager's own hypocrisy about acting before thinking.

"Alright, Takashi," he began, "I promise I won't take any more unnecessary risks, so long as _you _promise not to allow your emotions get the better of you when it comes to making decisions."

Both Takashi and Kohta looked surprised. "What do you mean by that, Naruto-san?" asked the bespectacled teen.

"Your little rescue mission from last night wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do either, Takashi."

"But-"

"Please, let me finish, Kohta-san." interrupted Naruto, before he turned his attention back to Takashi. "Although you had good intentions in mind, Takashi, you actions weren't in the best interest of the entire group. That house had food, supplies, and shelter that we could have used to our advantage. But we ended up staying there for barely an entire night. All because you wanted to save _one _survivor, we had to abandon a well-protected shelter. Even when we saved the girl, we would've probably been overrun by those _things_ if the others hadn't come to rescue us. And on top of that,the group barely escaped after I stayed behind to lure them away! Hell, if you had just ignored what was going on in the streets, we'd probably be waking up in the house right now after a good night's rest, instead of the group having to pull an all-nighter."

"But, Alice was in trouble!" retorted Takashi, trying to suppress his aggravation from being heard by the others and the girl in question. "Her father had been killed trying to find shelter, and she would have been eaten alive by _them_! You were there, you know th-"

"I know! I know!" Naruto paused to check and see if the girls had heard what they were saying, feeling relieved to see that no one was approaching them. "I can understand why you went to such drastic measures to save Alice, and I'm not condemning you for wanting to save a child who had just lost her father. But you can't keep do things like this in the spur of the moment, Takashi. If you were on your own, then it would've been fine. But you're with a group, and you have to keep in mind that the consequences of your actions affect everyone as a whole."

"If you were so against me helping Alice, then why did you tag along with me? Why didn't you try to persuade me to stay?"

Naruto just sighed, tiredly. He didn't want to go through this argument with Takashi, he was tired and just wanted to take a nap. "Because, you already had Kohta, Rei, and Saeko-chan's support. Even if I tried to argue my case, and we put it to a vote, I would have been outvoted four to one. Also, if by chance I _had _convinced you not to go, our base would've already been compromised from Kohta's shooting." Kohta had the decency to grimace when the blonde brought up how he had practically alerted the undead of their whereabouts. "I figured that if I came along, I would be able to make sure you didn't die along the way. But now that we've survived this ordeal, we have to make sure that we don't repeat our mistakes. Like Saeko-chan said last night, the civilized world is dying, as well as all of the laws it once had. If we're to survive this epidemic, we must do so with level heads. As I've said before, I'll promise to only stay behind and act as zombie bait as a last resort from now on, as long as you promise to think through your decisions more carefully. Deal?" He held out his hand, so that they could shake on it. Takashi stared at the outstretched hand silently, before he finally grasped it.

"Fair enough, I suppose." he said, as the two boys shook hands. I agree to your terms, Naruto." Soon after, an awkward silence fell between the three boys, doing nothing to ease the tension they felt. "Say, Naruto, um what's with those guns you've got strapped to your back?" asked Takashi, in a desperate attempt to break the ice.

"Huh? Oh, you mean these?" With everything that had been happening, Naruto had almost forgotten about the weapons he had found. With great care, he pulled the guns out from under his sheaths' straps, and held them out for Takashi and Kohta to see. "I kind of expected everyone to be mad at me for making the group leave without me. So, figured that these weapons would make adequate gifts to say '_I'm sorry_'."

There was a deep gasp, before Kohta was in front of the blonde in an instant, stars glittering his eyes as he gazed at the two guns. Seeing the smaller teen act so enthusiastically reminded him of his fellow Konoha shinobi Tenten whenever she saw a new weapon.

"May I?" asked Kohta, in a dazed tone. Naruto simply nodded, which was all that Kohta needed to begin examining the firearms.

"Oh, cool! An Uzi 9mm submachine gun with blowback action! These babies can fire up to 600 rounds per minute. Hm, has a fifty round cartridge, not bad, not bad. And as for ammo...no way, .22 LR Hyper-Velocity "Stinger" Hollow point bullets! These babies have a muzzle velocity of up to 1,800 feet per second, in exchange for a lighter bullet mass." He then turned his attention to the longer gun with a bent metal butt and curve ending, with an even bigger gasp. "And a Franchi SPAS-12 combat shotgun! Oh, wow, this beauty is a work of art! You're pretty lucky to find this variant, Naruto-san; this model is capable of holding up to eight rounds, and you can choose between the tradition pump or semi-automatic reload action! Military and police forces worldwide use this type firearm. And coincidentally, both this and the Uzi were titular weapons used in the one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most iconic movies, _The Terminator_!" He then turned to face Naruto with a look akin to admiration. "_Where did you find these amazing weapons?!_"

Naruto stepped back in a attempt to regain some of his personal space, but Kohta simply followed like a moth to a flame. He contemplated on telling Kohta about that Walker guy's untimely death, but decided otherwise. "Well, on my way to meet up with you guys, there was this guy shooting away at a bunch of _them_, hollering and making a grand scene like some smug jackass. The poor bastard was so focused on the undead that were charging in front of him, that he didn't even notice the other mob creeping at his side until it was too late. Luckily, the guy managed to drop the guns far away from _them _for me to grab them."

"I wonder who he was." said Takashi aloud.

Naruto just snorted, handing the guns to Kohta. "Doesn't matter now, the guy's not going to be needing them anytime soon. So, will these be of any use, Kohta?"

The expression on his face was just too priceless. "Are you kidding?! These will be perfect additions to our arsenal!"

"Then I guess you'll be wanting _these._" Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew three more fifty-round Uzi cartridges, and a full box of shotgun shells. This time, Kohta actually squealed in delight as he placed the ammunition in one of his many pockets, and holstered the guns into the straps on his back. Suddenly his entire body stiffened, as if he had just remembered something rather important, before he unstrapped a shotgun and presented it to Takashi.

"Take this Takashi, you might need it."

Takashi sighed "I don't know how to use this Kohta, it's probably best if I stick with my bat."

Kohta shook his head, saying that it took too much energy to effective against _them,_ and began to show him how to hold the weapon and how to fire it as well. Naruto tried to follow along as best he could, but he still ended up getting lost. "You should only use this in close range, and aim for the general area of the head, since you don't know how to use it." finished Kohta.

Takashi sighed once more as he took hold of the gun. "What if I run out of ammo?"

Kohta responded by continuing to show the taller teen what to do, as the ninja watched on in mild curiosity. Again, he tried to follow what was being said, but he still didn't understand most of the jargon. But it wasn't just him that was lost, if Takashi's frustrated expression was anything to go by.

"I'm not going to understand everything just by hearing it once, Kohta. I'll just use it as a club or something for now." said Takashi exasperatedly, as he hefted the heavy weapon on his back and turned towards the slope they would have to cross. Naruto frowned as he saw the agitated faces on both teens, but it was quite obvious that Kohta was more hurt by Takashi's abrupt dismissal of his advice than he let on. It reminded him of all the times his friends blew him off whenever he tried to offer advice, or whenever Sasuke and Sakura would look down upon him when they were just starting out as a team. He wanted to try and help the smaller teen, but didn't know how go about it without unintentionally making things worse. Then, an idea hit him.

"Oh, hey, Kohta," he began, catching the gun expert's attention, "I was wondering if you could possibly teach me how to use a gun. You know, just in case my swords get damaged."

Almost immediately, Kohta's face took on a much more cheerful expression. "Of course, Naruto-san! After all, you helped contribute to our arsenal, it's only fair that you get to use one of these guns." he said, reaching behind his back to pull out a gun for the blonde, before Naruto stopped him.

"Actually, Kohta, I've already got one." He reached into his pouch and withdrew the small firearm he had gotten from the uniformed man.

Kohta's eyes went wide at the sight of it. "_Another _Smith & Wesson M37 Air-Weight?!

Takashi, who had been listening in on their conversation, couldn't stem his surprise at seeing yet_ another gun _that the blonde had found.

"Yeah, uh, I guess kinda forgot about it after a while. Sorry about that."

"Eh, don't worry about, Naruto-san. With everything that's happening around us, it's easy to get distracted." said Kohta, as examined the weapon for any damage, as well as how much ammunition was left. "But I have to say, I'm quite jealous at how you just seem to find all these awesome guns without much trouble. So, where did you find this baby?"

Naruto's mood darkened as he recalled the fate of the firearm's last owner, which both boys quickly noticed. "Well,...you see...the last person who,...used...this gun, was in the middle of this chaos, when _they _were feeding. He used it to,...um, well...you know,..._take the easy way out_."

Realization struck both the teens, Kohta's exuberance vanishing in an instant. "Oh...I see. That would explain why only one shot was fired, and why there's...blood splatter...over the muzzle."

"So, can you help me Kohta?" the blonde asked, trying to steer the group conversation to something not as daunting as suicide.

"Uh, right, of course." said Kohta. "Now before we begin, Naruto-san, can you tell how much you know about guns?"

The ninja had the decency to look embarrassed, his hand scratching the back of his neck out of habit. "Aside the fact that you point it at what you want to kill, and then pull something to make it go _boom_, absolutely nothing."

Kohta just looked at him as if he couldn't believe just what he had heard, but didn't dwell on it for too long. "Okay then, I guess I'd better start you off with the four major rules of gun safety before I teach you how to use your gun. These rules are practiced in just about every country, so be sure you commit them to memory, alright?"

At Naruto's nod, Kohta continued. "Alright, the first, and by far the most important rule, is that you should always treat a gun as if it is loaded."

"Always?"

"Yes, _always_, even if it's out of ammo." replied Kohta, looking dead serious. "Hundreds of people have been killed by their own gun just because they were fooling around with it, thinking that it wasn't loaded. So if there's one thing that you should remember, it's this rule, got it?"

"Yeah, uh, I'll be sure to remember it." answered Naruto, not used to seeing Kohta this serious.

"Alright, moving on. Rule number two, never let the muzzle of the gun cross anything that you don't want to shoot." continued Kohta, pointing to the end of the revolver's barrel. "That's in case one of the rounds accidentally goes off on its own. Rule number three: keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot." This time he pointed to the thin, curved piece of metal that was inside a thin metal loop located underneath the barrel and in front of the grip. "The pressure that's required to pull the trigger varies; for some guns, it would only take the smallest amount of pressure exerted against the trigger for it to go off. So whenever you're holding a gun, make sure that your finger stays off the trigger until you are absolutely ready to shoot."

"Got it. And the fourth rule?"

"Always make sure that you know what's behind your target. The velocities in which these projectiles reach once they're shot is so high that they can pierce through your intended target, _and_ whatever is behind it. For example, you could be aiming to shoot one of _them _that's standing right in front of you, but even though your aim is accurate, there's still the chance that the bullet could pierce through the head, and then hit a normal human that was standing behind it a few feet away. Does any of this make any sense to you?"

"Uh, yeah, they seem like pretty reasonable rules to me." replied Naruto. But now that he had heard how dangerous that little gun Kohta was holding could possibly be, he was beginning to have second thoughts on learning how to wield it. But then again, he was in a different world, and he couldn't just rely on his ninja tools, especially since he was working with such a limited supply already, and there was no chance of him finding more. Suddenly, the duo heard a sharp gasp from Takashi, breaking off their conversation. Fearing for the worst, Naruto and Kohta whirled around, ready to face any undead that had managed to stagger their way towards them. But the sight that greeted them left the hormone-charged teenage boys. The three young women were no longer dressed in their sleeping clothes, but weren't fully dressed in the school uniforms they had worn yesterday. They still wore their uniforms, but with some major adjustments made to them. In Rei's case, it was the knee pads, white gloves, and the large gun that was strapped to her pack, which unintentionally accentuated her bust. Saeko, on the other hand, had decided to forgo the green skirt that both Saya and Rei wore, and instead opted to wear a very short black apron-like skirt that came down to the middle of her thighs. Naruto subtly noticed that if he looked close enough, he could still see the straps of the thong she was still wearing. But it was group's only adult that really caught the ninja's attention.

Shizuka was wearing a simple white blouse that looked as if it was stretched to its limit in trying to cover the woman's large breasts, and an orange plaid patterned skirt that reached to her upper thighs, replacing her old black torn one. Replacing her brown slip-ons were a pair of black loafers that were adorned with a metal buckle on the front. Despite the simplicity of her apparel, Naruto couldn't find it in him to pull his gaze from her. But it was the slightly perverted giggling coming from Kohta that managed to snap the blonde out of his daze, as well as remind him that he himself wasn't fully dressed.

"Uh, hey, since we're talking about clothes, can I get my jacket and shirt back, please?" he asked.

Saya adopted a thoughtful pose for a brief moment, before she gave the ninja a serious look. "Sorry, but we couldn't find your clothes in the bag we packed. We must have accidentally left them back at the house during the rush to get the Humvee ready."

"WHAT?!"

"Ignore Takagi-san, she's only joking, Naruto-san." said Saeko, handing the blond his folded-up shirt and jacket. Naruto sent the purplette a thankful smile as he unstrapped his swords, and began to dress himself.

"It was only a joke, Saeko-san. I was just trying to lighten the mood." retorted Saya.

"Yeah, well running around in the cold night half naked isn't exactly a pleasant experience, Takagi-san. But, if you don't believe me, then you're more than welcome to try frolicking in the night topless for yourself." replied Naruto coyly, as he zipped his jacket and fastened his swords onto his back once again.

Saya, however, didn't find the ninja's suggestion the least bit funny. Her face took on an ugly shade of red, as she seethed with unmitigated fury, her body visibly shaking as if she were ready to violently explode.

"Ah, Naruto-san, how about you help Kohta and me scout out the road ahead? You know, just to make sure that we don't find any nasty surprises when we drive the Humvee up this slope." said Takashi, trying to get the blonde away from the impending time bomb that was his childhood friend.

"Uh, yeah, sure thing, Takashi." answered Naruto, sending him a grateful smile towards the brunette. He briskly made his way to the other males, not looking back lest he provoke the angry pinkette that he knew was glaring directly at the back of his head. As the trio trekked up the steep slope, Kohta quickly continued where he left off on his lecture, showing him how to properly hold his revolver, how to prime it, and how to reload it once he used up his ammo. It seemed simple enough to the blonde, and figured that he'd have it down once he had some practice. They were about a few feet away from the top when Takashi stopped them. No words were spoken between the three males, each of them well aware of what could possibly be waiting for them. At Takashi's nod, they dashed towards the top, each facing a different direction with their guns at the ready the moment their feet hit the pavement.

"Clear on my end." said Takashi from the right.

"I've got nothing over here." stated Naruto from the left.

"And I don't see any more creeping up on the other side." declared Kohta, his eyes peering down the other side of the slope.

Slowly, the boys lowered their guns now that they determined that there was no new threat to deal with. But the eerie silence that seemed to permeate the area, as well as the lack of human activity, made Naruto feel that he was in a world completely devoid of life.

"There's...there's no one here." said Takashi, disbelievingly.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, yeah, but it's just weird to see this area so...quiet. Normally, you would see people driving up and down this road every day. But now, it's as if we're in some ghost town."

Naruto said nothing, unsure on what to say. He had already experienced what it was like to lose his entire home himself, but knew that he couldn't say anything without revealing that he was from another world. "I suppose it's alright to give the girls the _all clear_ signal, right?"

Takashi said nothing, instead preferring to nod towards Kohta. The bespectacled proceeded to walk back to the edge of the slope, where the rest of their party was waiting.

"IT'S ALL CLEAR! YOU'RE GOOD TO GO, SENSEI!" he shouted, waving his arms up in the air wildly. Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop at the boy's choice of a signal.

Suddenly, Naruto heard the sound of a large motor being started up, making him jump slightly; he did not expect the vehicle to make such a loud noise.

Kohta turned back to the others "Alright, they're coming up right now." The sound of a revving motor echoed in the background, before a longer running noise followed, and it was steadily becoming louder. Suddenly, the massive road vehicle zoomed off the grassy incline as if it were a ramp, missing Kohta by inches. Takashi and Naruto didn't get the chance to ask the marksman if he was alright, as they had to dive out of the Humvee's way, each going in opposite directions and narrowly avoiding being crushed by it.

"What the freaking hell?!" shouted Naruto, his entire for trembling from the near-death experience he just barely avoided. Takashi wasn't fairing any better, his face a sickly pale and his eyes wide from the adrenaline rush. Kohta, who was far worse off than the other two, hadn't from the spot he was standing in, his face depicting a vacant expression that somehow managed to convey the terror that he had experienced.

"Sorry!" called Shizuka from the driver's seat. "I guess I got caught up in the moment and put a little too much gas into this thing!"

'_She got so caught up in the moment that she forgot that we were standing directly in her path?_' He made a mental note to stay out of the woman's way whilst she was driving from now on. As he brought Kohta out of his daze, all of the girls got out of the vehicle to get a better view of their new surroundings. Saya took out a pair of binoculars to scout out the bridge that was further down the road. The bridge stretched across a bend in the very river that they had just crossed, connecting the road they were currently on to the neighborhood located on the other side.

"Well, we're in luck." said the pinkette as she lowered her binoculars. "It looks like the bridges that cross the river weren't blocked off after all, at least, from where we are right now. But there's always a chance that someone barricaded the road further down, as a way to keep _them_ from wandering too close to their shelter. "

"From what we heard on the radio, and on the news back at the house, the roads should be clear in the event that people would need to evacuate." added Saeko. "Of course, there's the possibility that everyone has already evacuated, and fled to safer locations.

"Yeah, but not the police officers. They should still be around!" stated Rei.

Saya hummed in agreement. "Yes, it's true that Japan's police force is known to be dedicated to their civil duty, and to protecting the citizenry." The brunette gave Saya an appreciative smile, but Naruto couldn't help but notice that Rei's optimism seemed forced for some reason.

"So, what's the plan from here?" asked Shizuka, her head sticking out of the driver's window.

"Uh, yeah," said Naruto awkwardly. "What exactly is the plan for this little party?"

"Our original plan was that we would travel back to our homes and search for our families. Despite everything's that happened, we still want to see for ourselves if they've made it out or not." explained Takashi. "Takagi-san, your house is still on 2-Chome at Higashi Hill, right?"

Saya nodded. "That's right."

"Since your home is the closest, we'll stop by there, first. But, um, well..." Takashi didn't bother trying to finish his line of thought, preferring to avert his gaze at the ground.

The genius pinkette just sighed. "Yeah, I know, I don't really have much hope that they'll still be there, either. But, it doesn't hurt to at least check." she finished for Takashi.

Without another word, the entire group entered the large vehicle, with Rei and Takashi opting to ride on top of the roof. At first, Naruto was a bit wary of going inside the large vehicle, what with nearly being hit by it as well as the fact that he had never seen anything like it before. Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to himself, he finally stepped inside after Saeko, although he had to remove his swords from his back in order to fit inside more easily. The interior wasn't anything what he had expected; it looked more like a stage coach than anything else. He claimed a seat that was next to Saeko, which put him next to a window and giving him a clear view of the outside. He placed his swords on the floor, making sure that he could easily get to them at a moment's notice. With a sudden jerk, the Humvee accelerated forward, startling the ninja and drawing the attention of Saya.

"What's wrong now? You're acting as if you've never been in a car before." stated the girl with a raised eye brow. And judging by the irritable tone in her voice, it was easy for Naruto to tell that she was still angry about his suggestion about running around topless at night.

"Hey, cut some slack, okay? I've be up all night killing undead, all the while making sure that I didn't get eaten alive, so of course I'm gonna be a little bit jumpy." he retorted, trying in vain to keep himself from yawning.

Saya looked somewhat surprised. "You stayed awake the entire time? Didn't you try to find a safe spot to rest, even for a short while?"

A second yawn broke through Naruto's mental restraint, the warm temperature and the comfortable leather seat making him drowsier with each passing second. "Couldn't take the risk. With the number of _them _running about, I had to constantly be on the move." Before he could say anything else, another yawn managed to escape his throat. "Cripes, I must be more tired than I thought, I can barely stay awake."

"Perhaps you should take this opportunity to take a nap, Naruto-san. It's pretty quiet around here, and no one has spotted any of _them _around for a while. Rei-san and Takashi-san will alert us if the situation changes." said Saeko.

"Well if you put it that, how can I say no." murmured the blonde. He was about to lean his head against the window and close his eyes for some well-earned rest, when he felt himself being gently eased down to his side. For some strange reason, he also felt something warm and soft against the side of his face. He curiously cracked open one of his eyes to see what outside force had moved him, only for both of his eyes to snap open a second later, a bright blush stretching across his face.

"Is something the matter, Naruto-san?"

"Um, well, not really, Saeko-chan," began Naruto, "but, uh, why did you lay me down on your lap?" He could practically feel her body heat radiating from her legs, even through her skirt. And considering that the thin garnet was all that was keeping his face from touching her panties, saying that blonde was a tad bit uncomfortable was an understatement. He had half expected the purplette to react violently, like Sakura always did whenever she thought he was doing anything she perceived as perverted.

But surprisingly, Saeko didn't so much as lift a finger. In fact, if the young swordswoman was any the least bit embarrassed, she did a fine job at hiding it. "I figured that this position would be more comfortable for you as opposed to sleeping with your neck twisted at an awkward angle."

"But, are you okay with me...laying on you like this? I mean, doesn't this make you the least bit uncomfortable?"

Saeko just shook her head. "It's fine, Naruto-san, now get some rest. I'll personally wake you up if anything changes." Even though he still felt a bit awkward about lying in the pretty girl's lap, Naruto had to admit that it was a lot more comfortable than the position he was previously in.

'_Well, if she's offering, then I might as well accept, don't want to seem rude_.' thought Naruto.'_Besides, I could do with a little nap._' Without another word, the blonde allowed himself to finally fade away into slumber.

_To Be Continued... _

**And so, another chapter has concluded. I am so sorry that this is so late, but several problems (personal and technical) prevented me from finishing this a lot sooner. But I will work on trying to get updates finished a lot quicker next time. Also, I've been get some feedback that format of Naruto constantly recalling each chapter as a memory is getting a bit annoying to the reader. Looking back on the last chapters, I can understand why they would think that. So from this point on, I won't start off a chapter with Naruto contemplating the last one. **

**Moving on, as you can probably tell, I absolutely have no love for Chuck Norris, and his moronic followers that treat him as if he were a god. I mean, sure, it's cool that he created his own martial arts style and that he once stared alongside Bruce Lee in a movie, but come ON, give it a rest already, people! **

**Also, thank you Vandenbz for being my beta reader!**

**So anyways, here ya go. If you like it, why not leave a review? And if not, then why not tell what you don't like so that I can try and make it better. **

**Happy Valentine's Day! **


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